Swam yesterday, including some pool running (zzzz....).
My Achilles tendons are not getting any better, despite zero running for two weeks. I'll see my doc again tomorrow, and a PT next week. But I'm starting to wonder if this is ever going to go away. Sigh...
My workouts are getting even more boring than usual, so I'm gonna stop posting them. Maybe if I can get healthy again... we'll see.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
More Walking... is this helping?
I had resolved to do nothing today, since my heels were still feeling tight. But in the evening I started feeling down about this plan... I fear I'm becoming dependent on exercise now as a source of endorphins or a source of mental calm.
So, by 8pm, I'd resolved to do SOMETHING. It gets dark around 9pm these days, so most of my hike would be in the dark. Since my heels had felt irritated after pretty much every hike in the past two weeks since I first injured them, I thought maybe the unevenness of trail hiking was an issue and I decided to walk on sidewalks this evening.
My family joined me for the first 10mins, and then headed home to let me walk off into the darkness alone.
I went out Rock Creek Pkwy in Superior, turned on 88th, crossed 36 into Louisville, then west on Dillon and north along the path that skirts the golf course. After about 90mins, I sat down and stretched for awhile and looked at the night sky which was only partly covered in clouds. The full moon was pale and yellow, just rising to the east. It was still quite warm out, having been 96 earlier in the day.
I walked back the same way, to Safeway, got some water, then home around 11pm. So 2:25 walking time, 7.3miles (thank you Google Earth), just under 20min miles including the various stops.
Unfortunately, my heels felt pretty tight in spite of the differing terrain. I iced them 10mins each, and woke up the next day with minor pain. But still, quite frustrating. Do I need to lay off entirely? That's usually NOT the best plan.
So, by 8pm, I'd resolved to do SOMETHING. It gets dark around 9pm these days, so most of my hike would be in the dark. Since my heels had felt irritated after pretty much every hike in the past two weeks since I first injured them, I thought maybe the unevenness of trail hiking was an issue and I decided to walk on sidewalks this evening.
My family joined me for the first 10mins, and then headed home to let me walk off into the darkness alone.
I went out Rock Creek Pkwy in Superior, turned on 88th, crossed 36 into Louisville, then west on Dillon and north along the path that skirts the golf course. After about 90mins, I sat down and stretched for awhile and looked at the night sky which was only partly covered in clouds. The full moon was pale and yellow, just rising to the east. It was still quite warm out, having been 96 earlier in the day.
I walked back the same way, to Safeway, got some water, then home around 11pm. So 2:25 walking time, 7.3miles (thank you Google Earth), just under 20min miles including the various stops.
Unfortunately, my heels felt pretty tight in spite of the differing terrain. I iced them 10mins each, and woke up the next day with minor pain. But still, quite frustrating. Do I need to lay off entirely? That's usually NOT the best plan.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Why am I tired?
I've felt strangely exhausted this weekend, without having done anything at all. Is this normal?
I managed to swim 1000 yds today, but I couldn't muster any more than this. And my first 300 was in 5:39, which is atrocious.
Maybe I have mono?
Or maybe I'm just bored (movie reference?).
Yesterday I had a tortilla with hummus, cous cous, spinach leaves, raisins, feta cheese, and walnuts. It was the yummiest thing I've eaten in a long time! Mmmm....
I managed to swim 1000 yds today, but I couldn't muster any more than this. And my first 300 was in 5:39, which is atrocious.
Maybe I have mono?
Or maybe I'm just bored (movie reference?).
Yesterday I had a tortilla with hummus, cous cous, spinach leaves, raisins, feta cheese, and walnuts. It was the yummiest thing I've eaten in a long time! Mmmm....
WS100 -- Dawn of a new Era?
Wow.
A lot of people called the race for Kilian Jornet, which was reasonable considering his resume. But he had just run 435 miles in the Pyrenees only a month before, and he likely did not do any heat training. Although Kilian pushed a blistering pace with Krupicka, in the end he could not maintain it. It looked like Krupicka's race until Geoff Roes somehow found the superhuman strength to come from ~16 minutes back to overtake and then put 7 more minutes into Krupicka in the last 10k. Nick Clark nearly passed Jornet as well, but Jornet managed to hold on to take 3rd.
This is really unusual for 100 mile races which can often be won by 30+ minutes, and the outcome is sometimes decided 30 miles before the end. Instead, here, we witnessed the closest finish in 15 years.
Another significant feature of this race was the fact that two fairly young individuals, Krupicka (26) and Jornet (22) led the race for the majority. Hundred milers are often the playground of older folks... at least 30 years old.
I was really pulling for Krupicka... he currently hails from Boulder, so he's a hometown favorite. Additionally, the guy has a very calm and engaging demeanor which is hard not to like.
I hope he's happy with "only" 2nd. He ran an astonishingly fast race, crushing the old course record in the process.
A lot of people called the race for Kilian Jornet, which was reasonable considering his resume. But he had just run 435 miles in the Pyrenees only a month before, and he likely did not do any heat training. Although Kilian pushed a blistering pace with Krupicka, in the end he could not maintain it. It looked like Krupicka's race until Geoff Roes somehow found the superhuman strength to come from ~16 minutes back to overtake and then put 7 more minutes into Krupicka in the last 10k. Nick Clark nearly passed Jornet as well, but Jornet managed to hold on to take 3rd.
This is really unusual for 100 mile races which can often be won by 30+ minutes, and the outcome is sometimes decided 30 miles before the end. Instead, here, we witnessed the closest finish in 15 years.
Another significant feature of this race was the fact that two fairly young individuals, Krupicka (26) and Jornet (22) led the race for the majority. Hundred milers are often the playground of older folks... at least 30 years old.
I was really pulling for Krupicka... he currently hails from Boulder, so he's a hometown favorite. Additionally, the guy has a very calm and engaging demeanor which is hard not to like.
I hope he's happy with "only" 2nd. He ran an astonishingly fast race, crushing the old course record in the process.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Canoeing and Butterflies
Today my son had his last day of camp (for the week) and it was "Parents' Day" which meant free canoe rides on Boulder Reservoir!
I left work at 11:30pm thinking I could get some food and be at the Res by noon. Nope: the usual horrendous traffic in Boulder was already well underway, and it took 20mins to just clear town.
I got to the Res right at noon, but I saw the $6 entry fee and was having none of it. So I parked outside the gate (can you say "cheapskate?") and jogged about half mile in the 95 degree heat.
I don't know what happened to Spring in Boulder, but I guess I missed it. Two weeks ago it was snowing at 10k feet.
As soon as I saw Sandra she said, "Hey, no running!" (I'm not supposed to be running at all.) And yeah, my left Achilles was burning... so bad decision.
My 4 year old had never been in a canoe and he was very suspicious, not wanting to get in! It took some coaxing. Finally I told him, "you are part Cherokee... and canoes were invented by American Indians, so this is in your blood!" That worked.
It was nice being out on the water... as soon as you feel a bit too hot, you can dip your hand into the water and rub it on your forehead. Ahhhh...
By 2pm I was on my way back to the car (walking this time) and by 3pm I was at the S. Mesa Trailhead with 100oz of ice water and a pair of trekking poles. I had thought to hike Doudy Draw again, but at the last minute demurred: it was too hot. So I went north instead, starting up the Homestead trail.
Wow, is it ever gorgeous. And, although I'm not supposed to be hiking hills, it's not too steep. In fact, quite runnable (when I get back to that hopefully).
I thought I was in a movie: butterflies cascading around me as I pranced up, breathing hard, my arms as tired as my legs. It felt so wonderful.
Up to Shadow Canyon, which is substantially broader than Homestead. After awhile, the trail turned NW and started to get steep. Once it was seriously climbing, I decided I'd better turn around (even though nothing hurt), and I went back down to the Mesa Trail connector and took that overgrown bushy trail to the Mesa trail (which is a highway). Then out that beautiful trail for a ways, just past S. Shanahan jct. By now it was 4:30pm and I wanted a 2.5hr walk, so I turned around figuring I was about an hour from the car.
Back down to the Big Bluestem, and took that down through amazing lush forests and more butterflies to the Mesa trail again, and the car.
About 2:21 hiking time, and maybe 2k vert. Iced the heels, 400mg Ibuprofen, and the usual prayer.
WS100 starts tomorrow. Will be exciting!
I left work at 11:30pm thinking I could get some food and be at the Res by noon. Nope: the usual horrendous traffic in Boulder was already well underway, and it took 20mins to just clear town.
I got to the Res right at noon, but I saw the $6 entry fee and was having none of it. So I parked outside the gate (can you say "cheapskate?") and jogged about half mile in the 95 degree heat.
I don't know what happened to Spring in Boulder, but I guess I missed it. Two weeks ago it was snowing at 10k feet.
As soon as I saw Sandra she said, "Hey, no running!" (I'm not supposed to be running at all.) And yeah, my left Achilles was burning... so bad decision.
My 4 year old had never been in a canoe and he was very suspicious, not wanting to get in! It took some coaxing. Finally I told him, "you are part Cherokee... and canoes were invented by American Indians, so this is in your blood!" That worked.
It was nice being out on the water... as soon as you feel a bit too hot, you can dip your hand into the water and rub it on your forehead. Ahhhh...
By 2pm I was on my way back to the car (walking this time) and by 3pm I was at the S. Mesa Trailhead with 100oz of ice water and a pair of trekking poles. I had thought to hike Doudy Draw again, but at the last minute demurred: it was too hot. So I went north instead, starting up the Homestead trail.
Wow, is it ever gorgeous. And, although I'm not supposed to be hiking hills, it's not too steep. In fact, quite runnable (when I get back to that hopefully).
I thought I was in a movie: butterflies cascading around me as I pranced up, breathing hard, my arms as tired as my legs. It felt so wonderful.
Up to Shadow Canyon, which is substantially broader than Homestead. After awhile, the trail turned NW and started to get steep. Once it was seriously climbing, I decided I'd better turn around (even though nothing hurt), and I went back down to the Mesa Trail connector and took that overgrown bushy trail to the Mesa trail (which is a highway). Then out that beautiful trail for a ways, just past S. Shanahan jct. By now it was 4:30pm and I wanted a 2.5hr walk, so I turned around figuring I was about an hour from the car.
Back down to the Big Bluestem, and took that down through amazing lush forests and more butterflies to the Mesa trail again, and the car.
About 2:21 hiking time, and maybe 2k vert. Iced the heels, 400mg Ibuprofen, and the usual prayer.
WS100 starts tomorrow. Will be exciting!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Swimming is boring.... but I can still do it!
Swam a 500 today, just to see how slow I am. 8:40.
That used to win races in high school, as slow as it is! I remember swimming about that speed in high school, then going a full minute faster as soon as I bought a pair of speedos. By the time I was a senior I was going about 6:40 (2nd place in Oakland behind a guy named Sherwin Gormley who could go about 5:10). In college I went as fast as 5:19, making me the slowest person on the team. The fastest was a guy named Mark; he would go 4:45 or so, which still amazes me. (The WR is 4:08.)
The 8:40 translates to a 30:20 per mile pace. The fastest Ironman swimmers swim 2.4 miles at a 19:30 pace, in open water!
No ill effects from my short hike up Green yesterday, which is very very good news.
That used to win races in high school, as slow as it is! I remember swimming about that speed in high school, then going a full minute faster as soon as I bought a pair of speedos. By the time I was a senior I was going about 6:40 (2nd place in Oakland behind a guy named Sherwin Gormley who could go about 5:10). In college I went as fast as 5:19, making me the slowest person on the team. The fastest was a guy named Mark; he would go 4:45 or so, which still amazes me. (The WR is 4:08.)
The 8:40 translates to a 30:20 per mile pace. The fastest Ironman swimmers swim 2.4 miles at a 19:30 pace, in open water!
No ill effects from my short hike up Green yesterday, which is very very good news.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Green Mtn, slowly...
Sick of swimming and weights, I really wanted to be outside today.. it was SO perfect out. So I decided to risk angering the Tendonitis Gods and go for a walk.
Green looked perfect. There was no way I could do the front side, so I decided to just walk up the west ridge. Since I had no water bottle, I stopped by the Trek Bike store on Baseline to get one. They had a $6 bike bottle with their store advertising; it was filled with water, in a little fridge. That's all they had. I bought it... thinking the price was high. The water tasted like plastic (go figure) so I dumped it out and refilled from the free tap at Wild Oats, then added ice from Subway. Pretty elaborate, I know!
As soon as I started up the Flagstaff road, the "you're out of gas" light beeps on my Prius. Hmmm, well, it's not THAT far, right?
Two deer are at the trailhead, so I made a big detour hoping not to disturb them. Then the endorphins started flowing: I was exalting in just being outside, moving again! And no one else was around... amazing.
To avoid stressing my Achilles tendons, I would try and always place my heel on a rock with my toe landing lower, giving me a compressed tendon and upward-pointing (plantar flexed) foot. This seemed to help. Sometimes, on the uphills, I side-stepped up them. I'm sure I looked ridiculous, but no one was there.
I got to the four-way (ranger, green bear, west ridge), and I started feeling my Achilles... sigh. But the top is near, so I just side-stepped to the summit.
Uphill walking feels so easy now.... I guess no weight, short hike, only 600' of climbing at lowish altitude on clean trails SHOULD feel easy. But I still loved floating up without breathing hard.
I wanted to run...
I spent 25mins on the summit... no one else around. It was 5pm.
The down has a lot of up, so I tried to be careful. After getting back to the car, coasting all the way to the gas station, I resolved to be aggressive in preventing any tendon flare-ups I may have just incited.
Dinner: Odwalla vanilla protein shake, hamburger with mustard, tomato, lettuce, and onion (no ketchup, mayo, or cheese). Iced both ankles, massaged both calves, took 800mg Ibuprofen, fish oil, glucosamine. I'll try to get some sleep tonight and hopefully I won't wake up in agony tomorrow morning.
Fingers crossed.
Green looked perfect. There was no way I could do the front side, so I decided to just walk up the west ridge. Since I had no water bottle, I stopped by the Trek Bike store on Baseline to get one. They had a $6 bike bottle with their store advertising; it was filled with water, in a little fridge. That's all they had. I bought it... thinking the price was high. The water tasted like plastic (go figure) so I dumped it out and refilled from the free tap at Wild Oats, then added ice from Subway. Pretty elaborate, I know!
As soon as I started up the Flagstaff road, the "you're out of gas" light beeps on my Prius. Hmmm, well, it's not THAT far, right?
Two deer are at the trailhead, so I made a big detour hoping not to disturb them. Then the endorphins started flowing: I was exalting in just being outside, moving again! And no one else was around... amazing.
To avoid stressing my Achilles tendons, I would try and always place my heel on a rock with my toe landing lower, giving me a compressed tendon and upward-pointing (plantar flexed) foot. This seemed to help. Sometimes, on the uphills, I side-stepped up them. I'm sure I looked ridiculous, but no one was there.
I got to the four-way (ranger, green bear, west ridge), and I started feeling my Achilles... sigh. But the top is near, so I just side-stepped to the summit.
Uphill walking feels so easy now.... I guess no weight, short hike, only 600' of climbing at lowish altitude on clean trails SHOULD feel easy. But I still loved floating up without breathing hard.
I wanted to run...
I spent 25mins on the summit... no one else around. It was 5pm.
The down has a lot of up, so I tried to be careful. After getting back to the car, coasting all the way to the gas station, I resolved to be aggressive in preventing any tendon flare-ups I may have just incited.
Dinner: Odwalla vanilla protein shake, hamburger with mustard, tomato, lettuce, and onion (no ketchup, mayo, or cheese). Iced both ankles, massaged both calves, took 800mg Ibuprofen, fish oil, glucosamine. I'll try to get some sleep tonight and hopefully I won't wake up in agony tomorrow morning.
Fingers crossed.
Strength Training
Here's what I'm starting with for strength-training (aimed at running, once I get healthy again):
Adapted from Tim Hilden's list, found in "Runner's World Guide to Injury Prevention" by Dagny Scott Barrios.
I'll start tonight or tomorrow.
| Balance Ball Curls | 3x10 | Core/Glutes |
| Skating Swings | 3x10 | Hips/Glutes |
| Soccer Kicks | 3x10 | Hips/Glutes |
| Supine Bridge | 3x10 | Core/Glutes/Hips |
| Leg Extensions | 3x10 | Lower Abs |
| Wall Squats | 4x10 | Quads |
| Curls | 3x10 | Biceps |
| Triceps Extensions | 3x10 | Triceps |
| Shoulder Abductions | 3x10 | Shoulders |
| Bench Press | 3x10 | Chest |
Adapted from Tim Hilden's list, found in "Runner's World Guide to Injury Prevention" by Dagny Scott Barrios.
I'll start tonight or tomorrow.
Dare I try a hike... or even a RUN?
Swam 1200 yds, yesterday, all intervals. Putting in 100s at 1:35 feels hard... somehow I used to go sub-1:10 in workouts in college and sub-55 in races. Seems like another lifetime ago.
Pushing off the walls in the pool is explosive, and I tweaked my ankle yet again on one of the turns. Lately feels like they are made of glass. Nonetheless, woke up with very little pain today and I might try to get outside on this crystal-clear Boulder day. My mind wants to hike up Green, but my body would probably collapse (again), so prudence suggests something more reasonable like a 1-2mi flat walk. Sigh...
I meet with my new trainer (Janet Runyan) next week; if I show up to that meeting healthy, I plan to get started on a serious (and intelligent, for a change) plan to get a mileage base going.
Pushing off the walls in the pool is explosive, and I tweaked my ankle yet again on one of the turns. Lately feels like they are made of glass. Nonetheless, woke up with very little pain today and I might try to get outside on this crystal-clear Boulder day. My mind wants to hike up Green, but my body would probably collapse (again), so prudence suggests something more reasonable like a 1-2mi flat walk. Sigh...
I meet with my new trainer (Janet Runyan) next week; if I show up to that meeting healthy, I plan to get started on a serious (and intelligent, for a change) plan to get a mileage base going.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Blah... injury GO AWAY!
Achilles tendons still hurting... it's been 8 days now. I plan to swim today, that's it. Though I'm almost done putting together a strength-training regimen to start soon.
This morning on the way to camp, Jesse asked me what's bigger, a googol factorial or a googolplex. I told him I wasn't sure without paper, but he wanted me to guess.
Then I recalled that using a simple integral lowerbound, we know that (n/e)ne ≤ n!. (You get this from taking ln of n!, converting to a sum; then integrate ln x to get x ln x - x, and evaluate over [1,n] to get n ln n - n + 1. Taking e to this power gives the lowerbound (n/e)ne ≤ n!)
This makes it easy. Let g be a googol. Recall a googol is 10100 and a
googolplex is 10g. Then g! > (g/e)g e > (g/10)g = 1099g > 10g. So g! is definitely bigger than a googolplex. By a lot, in fact.
This morning on the way to camp, Jesse asked me what's bigger, a googol factorial or a googolplex. I told him I wasn't sure without paper, but he wanted me to guess.
Then I recalled that using a simple integral lowerbound, we know that (n/e)ne ≤ n!. (You get this from taking ln of n!, converting to a sum; then integrate ln x to get x ln x - x, and evaluate over [1,n] to get n ln n - n + 1. Taking e to this power gives the lowerbound (n/e)ne ≤ n!)
This makes it easy. Let g be a googol. Recall a googol is 10100 and a
googolplex is 10g. Then g! > (g/e)g e > (g/10)g = 1099g > 10g. So g! is definitely bigger than a googolplex. By a lot, in fact.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Adventures of an Invalid
Pronouncing "invalid" as a noun is all the rage among my family this week: daddy hasn't walked very well. But today was Father's Day, and I was motivated to be more valid than in the past 5 days.
Sandra took the boys around 10:30pm up to Longmont, leaving me the day to do whatever I wanted. After cleaning the house for a while, I headed to Lakeshore to swim about 1000 yds. Then back home, Sandra called and said they were going to have dinner in Longmont and I was invited.
Instead of driving up, I decided to bike (about 25 miles from Superior). This, in spite of my still-painful Achilles tendinopathy.
Around 2:15pm, under fairly dark skies, I headed out Rock Creek Parkway, turning right on 88th St, then left on Dillon. To avoid straining my Achilles tendons, I was pedaling with my heels over the clipless pedals (instead of the balls of my feet, which is more natural and which would be mandatory if I wore cleats). Also, I pointed my toes downward to keep my Achilles compressed rather than extended. This seemed to work well.
I'd resolved not to push myself too hard: although I was aerobically in good enough shape to hold 80% HR for 2 hours, my body was not at all used to cycling and I really didn't want another injury to compound the current one. So I stopped periodically to massage my legs, stretch, drink, etc.
Up McCaslin to South Boulder, then the long downhill into Boulder. Right on Cherryvale, left on Baseline, right on 55th, left on Pennsylvania, over Foothills on the overpass, then up to 30th and Arapahoe for a Jamba Juice.
Although it would have been shorter to just take 96th straight north to Longmont, I was taking the scenic route for 2 reasons: (1) food and drink along the way, and (2) I could always puss out and take the bus if I started feeling joint pain or whatever.
The diagonal was monotonous an quite trafficked, as usual. Arrived in Longmont around 4:40pm only to find Sandra had left! Now I would need to ride back home as well?
Fortunately, she was only in Boulder playing mini-golf with the kids, so she came back up to have dinner (which had previously been aborted), then we drove home this evening.
Still massaging my calves with The Stick (tm) and icing my Achilles. Feel fine, and hoping for the best tomorrow. (I never get to know if I'm injured or not until the next day, it seems.)
All in all, a good Father's Day.
Sandra took the boys around 10:30pm up to Longmont, leaving me the day to do whatever I wanted. After cleaning the house for a while, I headed to Lakeshore to swim about 1000 yds. Then back home, Sandra called and said they were going to have dinner in Longmont and I was invited.
Instead of driving up, I decided to bike (about 25 miles from Superior). This, in spite of my still-painful Achilles tendinopathy.
Around 2:15pm, under fairly dark skies, I headed out Rock Creek Parkway, turning right on 88th St, then left on Dillon. To avoid straining my Achilles tendons, I was pedaling with my heels over the clipless pedals (instead of the balls of my feet, which is more natural and which would be mandatory if I wore cleats). Also, I pointed my toes downward to keep my Achilles compressed rather than extended. This seemed to work well.
I'd resolved not to push myself too hard: although I was aerobically in good enough shape to hold 80% HR for 2 hours, my body was not at all used to cycling and I really didn't want another injury to compound the current one. So I stopped periodically to massage my legs, stretch, drink, etc.
Up McCaslin to South Boulder, then the long downhill into Boulder. Right on Cherryvale, left on Baseline, right on 55th, left on Pennsylvania, over Foothills on the overpass, then up to 30th and Arapahoe for a Jamba Juice.
Although it would have been shorter to just take 96th straight north to Longmont, I was taking the scenic route for 2 reasons: (1) food and drink along the way, and (2) I could always puss out and take the bus if I started feeling joint pain or whatever.
The diagonal was monotonous an quite trafficked, as usual. Arrived in Longmont around 4:40pm only to find Sandra had left! Now I would need to ride back home as well?
Fortunately, she was only in Boulder playing mini-golf with the kids, so she came back up to have dinner (which had previously been aborted), then we drove home this evening.
Still massaging my calves with The Stick (tm) and icing my Achilles. Feel fine, and hoping for the best tomorrow. (I never get to know if I'm injured or not until the next day, it seems.)
All in all, a good Father's Day.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Mt Washington
Looks like Denver Marathon Winner Chris Siemers won the Mt Washington Road Race today. And Green Mtn FKT holder Rickey Gates came in 4th.
This is probably the most prestigious uphill road race in the country. Gratz to all who competed!
This is probably the most prestigious uphill road race in the country. Gratz to all who competed!
Mt Evans Spectating?? .... nah
I woke up at 4am today thinking I might drive down to Mt Evans and watch the ascent race. I could probably help a few ppl down from the top as well (people often need rides down).
It was probably best that I decided to just sleep in. I don't seem to sleep well anymore this past year, and I wake up a lot through the night.
No results on Evans yet; I hope Jeff Valliere does well. I like his blog.
I've been swimming lately, since I can't run now. Heels are still painful, and it's been almost a week since I last did a hill. Patience I guess... :)
It was probably best that I decided to just sleep in. I don't seem to sleep well anymore this past year, and I wake up a lot through the night.
No results on Evans yet; I hope Jeff Valliere does well. I like his blog.
I've been swimming lately, since I can't run now. Heels are still painful, and it's been almost a week since I last did a hill. Patience I guess... :)
Thursday, June 17, 2010
So frustrating
Swimming, Jacuzzi, stretching, calf massage, ice. All trying to keep my feet healthy.
Today at work, my feet hurt. Plantar pain (probably from trying that running orthotic, which doesn't have much arch support compared to my walking orthotic). And worst of all, achilles pain.
I mean... what? All I did was walk slowly on a flat trail with padded shoes.
Playing kickball tonight with a neighborhood team in the Superior league. I can't run. This will be fun. :(
Supposed to hike Green Mtn tomorrow with Andy. Might have to postpone. Sigh...
Today at work, my feet hurt. Plantar pain (probably from trying that running orthotic, which doesn't have much arch support compared to my walking orthotic). And worst of all, achilles pain.
I mean... what? All I did was walk slowly on a flat trail with padded shoes.
Playing kickball tonight with a neighborhood team in the Superior league. I can't run. This will be fun. :(
Supposed to hike Green Mtn tomorrow with Andy. Might have to postpone. Sigh...
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Achilles Tendonosis
Went to the doc this morning. He says no running for 2 weeks and lay off the hills.
Sigh... not sure how to train for Long's Peak without doing hills.
Sigh... not sure how to train for Long's Peak without doing hills.
Doudy Draw loop
Slow walk today with Andy. Flatirons vista, Doudy Draw, Community Ditch, cross 93, Greenbelt Plateau, back to car. 2:18 slow hiking. I used poles for the first time ever, just to keep some weight off my injured feet. I also used Asics trail runners (GS 2150s) with a running orthotic.
Felt fine. No aches, no pain.
Got back home, ate some dinner around 7pm, then off to the pool. Did 7x100 on the 3mins, lifted some weights, sat in the jacuzzi letting my feet get massaged a bit. Then went home and iced.
I wore this ridiculous Strassburg Sock to bed. It's supposed to help Achilles and Plantar problems, but mostly it just made it hard to sleep. I wore it on my right foot only, and in the morning I really couldn't tell any difference.
Felt fine. No aches, no pain.
Got back home, ate some dinner around 7pm, then off to the pool. Did 7x100 on the 3mins, lifted some weights, sat in the jacuzzi letting my feet get massaged a bit. Then went home and iced.
I wore this ridiculous Strassburg Sock to bed. It's supposed to help Achilles and Plantar problems, but mostly it just made it hard to sleep. I wore it on my right foot only, and in the morning I really couldn't tell any difference.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Injured?!?!
Dang!!
I woke up with intense sharp pain on the backs of both heels. I have never felt pain there before! I've had sore hips, knees, toes, plantar fascia, but never heel pain. Dang it!
I felt completely fine yesterday.
Looking on the web, it's likely "insertional achilles tendonosis" due to either running too much or running uphill too much. Of course the advice I found is the same as all advice you ever find: rest, ice, stretch, anti-inflammatories.
I guess no more uphill for a while.
Feeling pretty down.
I woke up with intense sharp pain on the backs of both heels. I have never felt pain there before! I've had sore hips, knees, toes, plantar fascia, but never heel pain. Dang it!
I felt completely fine yesterday.
Looking on the web, it's likely "insertional achilles tendonosis" due to either running too much or running uphill too much. Of course the advice I found is the same as all advice you ever find: rest, ice, stretch, anti-inflammatories.
I guess no more uphill for a while.
Feeling pretty down.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Flagstaff again?
Only two days since Green Mtn, but I feel great. Scale says 188lbs now (201 only a few weeks ago).
I resolved to try and PR again, but by running smarter rather than with more effort. I managed to go 23:17, over a minute faster than last time. This was almost entirely due to saving enough for the final leg that I could run most of it instead of walking.
Had to walk down again, with no Sandra around. :(
I went down Flag Rd to R6, Flag trail, then Crown, then Gregory. Max HR 175. Felt fine.
I resolved to try and PR again, but by running smarter rather than with more effort. I managed to go 23:17, over a minute faster than last time. This was almost entirely due to saving enough for the final leg that I could run most of it instead of walking.
Had to walk down again, with no Sandra around. :(
I went down Flag Rd to R6, Flag trail, then Crown, then Gregory. Max HR 175. Felt fine.
R1 7:17 7:17
R2 1:45 9:02
R3 1:23 10:25
R4 55 11:20
R5 3:37 14:57
R6 3:45 18:42
R7 4:35 23:17
Friday, June 11, 2010
First time up Green
Everyone around here runs up Green mountain. It's like other people read the morning paper, but instead people in Boulder run up a 2500' ascent. Crazy!
I had been to Green's summit maybe 5 times in the last 8 years I've lived in Colorado. All via the west ridge from the Flagstaff road. Today I wanted to go up the front.
I had no desire to DESCEND down the front, however. And I couldn't get a ride down from the west ridge TH, so I packed up my bike and drove up Flagstaff Rd. I found a nice clump of trees and hid my bike in there, locking it to one of the pines. Then drove back down to Chautauqua.
At 11:15am, amidst about 10,000 people, I started up the Baseline Trail
(which itself took me a little while to locate). I started my stopwatch
at the sign, just for laughs.
The Baseline trail seems to have about 20 variations, social trails,
old vehicle roads, etc. I really wanted to follow the "official" trail
used by the real runners, so whenever I found myself on something other
than what seemed right, I turned around.
This happened twice, so I lost a little time, but nothing much. I finally
decided that one of the "middle-ish" paths seemed to most resemble a trail,
even though it too started turning into a two-wheeled-looking thing as
it approached the Gregory Canyon area.
I wasn't running at all. I hadn't planned to. I just wanted to learn
this route since I'd never been up it, and I was planning to keep my HR
at 80-90% once the climbing started (145-163bpm for me).
I took the first sharp-left at a sign-post and it immediately got steep.
Up we go! I had no idea where on Green Mtn the trails would lead, but
I was surprised to be going toward the First Flatiron since I didn't
think it possible to get through that way. But I'm a Boulder noob,
what do I know?
Eventually I learned that I was on the "Bluebaird Trail" and that didn't
sound right. Bill W had always said "Baseline, Amphitheater, Something
Starting with an S, then Greenman". I hoped that this Bluebaird thing
would cross back over to one of those in the list above, since these
trails around Chautauqua all seem to intersect each other 400 times.
Eventually I came to the Chautauqua trail and there were no signs
for Green Mtn. In fact, it seems I was headed for Royal Arch. Gah!
I asked someone, and he said I needed to go all the way back down. So
I did.
I don't recall the time, but I noted the elevation... then I went back
down 450 ft lower to regain the point where I made my error. It was an
extra mile of travel as well.
Continuing west a bit more I found the Amphitheater trail and started
up. OMG! It was so so steep. My legs were still fresh, but this trail
punished them immediately and relentlessly. I was trying to push semi-hard
to keep my HR rate up, but my quads were already screaming. I pushed down
hard on my knees and powered up, passing 10 people or so as I ascended
up toward the amphitheater.
As I passed the amphitheater, I noticed a bunch of people rockclimbing
there. I had no idea there was a rockclimbing area up here, and the routes
looked fairly moderate and top-ropeable. I wonder if my sons could get up
them? I can't find any description of the routes on the web.
By the time I hit the junction with the Saddle Rock Trail, I'm feeling down:
this is supposedly 1/3 of the way up and I'm already tired. My watch reads
51mins.... sigh.
Here was my thinking:
Flagstaff -- 1300vert, 1.6mi, FKT ~16min
Green Mtn -- 2500vert, 2.8mi, FKT ~28min
So it looks like Green is about Flagstaff x 2, right? Even in my ridiculously
poor shape I can do Flagstaff in about 35mins right now. So I expected about
1:10 on Green. And here I was at nearly an hour, only a third of the way
up (I had forgotten about my wrong turn lower down).
Resigned to a longer-than-planned hike, I gave up on the "no stopping"
rule and sat down to eat some GORP and stretch a little. I resumed at 1:02
on my stopwatch.
The next miles to Greenman went ok, still holding about 155bpm on avg, I
got there about 1:22 on my watch. Then I was pleased to see some runnable
level and even downhill on the Greenman trail, which I took advantage of
with jog that resembled a waddle more than anything else.
I hit the top (the true top!) at 1:41 on the watch. Downed the Odwalla
protein monster I had carried up in my Camelbak along with more Gorp.
The skies were crackling with lightning and no one else was around. After
10mins on the summit, I was wondering where the people I had passed were...
was it too dangerous up there?
Finally an elderly (and beautiful) woman came up the west ridge holding
two rocks, one in each hand. Without a word she set the rocks down next
to me. I said, "I've always wondered how all these rocks get up here."
She responded, "well, someone has to carry them up."
She apparently does the west ridge for fitness, even in winter. She
looked very fit and strong.
As I headed down the west ridge toward my stashed bike 1.4mi away, I saw
another guy coming up: he was running easily, had no shirt and wore a HR
monitor. He wasn't breathing hard. He had short jet-black hair and a
3-day beard, looked very fit, about 5'8" and 140 lbs. I was too shy to
ask if he was a BTR guy.
It was 1:15pm now, and a few others were heading up the west ridge, all
walking. I had planned to run down this trail, but my quads were so shot
and my knees were aching enough that I waited until the steep section
was done. Then I ran the rolling sections at an easy pace, feeling
pretty tired. There are a couple of uphills to negotiate, and those hurt.
In fact, I walked most of them.
It was just after 1:30pm as I grabbed my bike, putting the front wheel
on, and testing the brakes for the long descent down Flagstaff road. I
hadn't thought about it beforehand, but with the chilly temps and my
sweat-drenched state, it was going to be a cold ride down. I didn't bring
any extra clothing: just the long-sleeved poly shirt, cotton shorts,
cotton socks, and running shoes I was wearing.
Almost immediately it started to rain. Slowly at first, then harder.
I hadn't ridden a bike on a hill in about 8 years, and my handling skills
and confidence were both low. The hairpin turns and steep inclines kept
me from even blinking. I wished for tires with tread left on them.
My brakes seemed sluggish, and only after a while did I realize that
they weren't overheating, but that the rims of my wheels were wet and
the brakes were slipping. I slowed down as the rain turned into a
torrential downpour. The sleeves of my shirt hung loosely from my
elbows and my shorts and socks were drenched to the point where I knew
I could wring a liter of water from them once I stopped.
I started talking to myself: I wanted to go faster to get it over with,
but I knew I wasn't going to freeze to death if I just went slow and
made not-crashing my main priority. I had no idea how fast I could take
the turns without slipping out: my tires weren't too great, the road was
now a rivulet, and visibility was going down. I looked up at Green Mtn
and I could no longer see the summit, shrouded by a black cloud now.
The worst moment was just after the Flagstaff Mountain summit when I swung
out left to make a big right and another cyclist screamed at me because
I had veered into his line as he was trying to pass me. I had no idea
he was even there. The sound of the rain was so loud I could hear nothing else.
Back at the car, I didn't even load my bike: just leaned it against
the bumper and got in to try and warm up in front of the heater.
Thirty minutes later I was back in Superior and it wasn't even raining.
I must have looked odd coming out of my car soaking wet, hair drenched,
backpack leaking water. Sandra just shook her head.
An hour later I was at Lakeshore Athletic Club, sitting in the Jacuzzi
with jets spraying my knees and hips. They'll probably hurt tomorrow
anyway.
I had been to Green's summit maybe 5 times in the last 8 years I've lived in Colorado. All via the west ridge from the Flagstaff road. Today I wanted to go up the front.
I had no desire to DESCEND down the front, however. And I couldn't get a ride down from the west ridge TH, so I packed up my bike and drove up Flagstaff Rd. I found a nice clump of trees and hid my bike in there, locking it to one of the pines. Then drove back down to Chautauqua.
At 11:15am, amidst about 10,000 people, I started up the Baseline Trail
(which itself took me a little while to locate). I started my stopwatch
at the sign, just for laughs.
The Baseline trail seems to have about 20 variations, social trails,
old vehicle roads, etc. I really wanted to follow the "official" trail
used by the real runners, so whenever I found myself on something other
than what seemed right, I turned around.
This happened twice, so I lost a little time, but nothing much. I finally
decided that one of the "middle-ish" paths seemed to most resemble a trail,
even though it too started turning into a two-wheeled-looking thing as
it approached the Gregory Canyon area.
I wasn't running at all. I hadn't planned to. I just wanted to learn
this route since I'd never been up it, and I was planning to keep my HR
at 80-90% once the climbing started (145-163bpm for me).
I took the first sharp-left at a sign-post and it immediately got steep.
Up we go! I had no idea where on Green Mtn the trails would lead, but
I was surprised to be going toward the First Flatiron since I didn't
think it possible to get through that way. But I'm a Boulder noob,
what do I know?
Eventually I learned that I was on the "Bluebaird Trail" and that didn't
sound right. Bill W had always said "Baseline, Amphitheater, Something
Starting with an S, then Greenman". I hoped that this Bluebaird thing
would cross back over to one of those in the list above, since these
trails around Chautauqua all seem to intersect each other 400 times.
Eventually I came to the Chautauqua trail and there were no signs
for Green Mtn. In fact, it seems I was headed for Royal Arch. Gah!
I asked someone, and he said I needed to go all the way back down. So
I did.
I don't recall the time, but I noted the elevation... then I went back
down 450 ft lower to regain the point where I made my error. It was an
extra mile of travel as well.
Continuing west a bit more I found the Amphitheater trail and started
up. OMG! It was so so steep. My legs were still fresh, but this trail
punished them immediately and relentlessly. I was trying to push semi-hard
to keep my HR rate up, but my quads were already screaming. I pushed down
hard on my knees and powered up, passing 10 people or so as I ascended
up toward the amphitheater.
As I passed the amphitheater, I noticed a bunch of people rockclimbing
there. I had no idea there was a rockclimbing area up here, and the routes
looked fairly moderate and top-ropeable. I wonder if my sons could get up
them? I can't find any description of the routes on the web.
By the time I hit the junction with the Saddle Rock Trail, I'm feeling down:
this is supposedly 1/3 of the way up and I'm already tired. My watch reads
51mins.... sigh.
Here was my thinking:
Flagstaff -- 1300vert, 1.6mi, FKT ~16min
Green Mtn -- 2500vert, 2.8mi, FKT ~28min
So it looks like Green is about Flagstaff x 2, right? Even in my ridiculously
poor shape I can do Flagstaff in about 35mins right now. So I expected about
1:10 on Green. And here I was at nearly an hour, only a third of the way
up (I had forgotten about my wrong turn lower down).
Resigned to a longer-than-planned hike, I gave up on the "no stopping"
rule and sat down to eat some GORP and stretch a little. I resumed at 1:02
on my stopwatch.
The next miles to Greenman went ok, still holding about 155bpm on avg, I
got there about 1:22 on my watch. Then I was pleased to see some runnable
level and even downhill on the Greenman trail, which I took advantage of
with jog that resembled a waddle more than anything else.
I hit the top (the true top!) at 1:41 on the watch. Downed the Odwalla
protein monster I had carried up in my Camelbak along with more Gorp.
The skies were crackling with lightning and no one else was around. After
10mins on the summit, I was wondering where the people I had passed were...
was it too dangerous up there?
Finally an elderly (and beautiful) woman came up the west ridge holding
two rocks, one in each hand. Without a word she set the rocks down next
to me. I said, "I've always wondered how all these rocks get up here."
She responded, "well, someone has to carry them up."
She apparently does the west ridge for fitness, even in winter. She
looked very fit and strong.
As I headed down the west ridge toward my stashed bike 1.4mi away, I saw
another guy coming up: he was running easily, had no shirt and wore a HR
monitor. He wasn't breathing hard. He had short jet-black hair and a
3-day beard, looked very fit, about 5'8" and 140 lbs. I was too shy to
ask if he was a BTR guy.
It was 1:15pm now, and a few others were heading up the west ridge, all
walking. I had planned to run down this trail, but my quads were so shot
and my knees were aching enough that I waited until the steep section
was done. Then I ran the rolling sections at an easy pace, feeling
pretty tired. There are a couple of uphills to negotiate, and those hurt.
In fact, I walked most of them.
It was just after 1:30pm as I grabbed my bike, putting the front wheel
on, and testing the brakes for the long descent down Flagstaff road. I
hadn't thought about it beforehand, but with the chilly temps and my
sweat-drenched state, it was going to be a cold ride down. I didn't bring
any extra clothing: just the long-sleeved poly shirt, cotton shorts,
cotton socks, and running shoes I was wearing.
Almost immediately it started to rain. Slowly at first, then harder.
I hadn't ridden a bike on a hill in about 8 years, and my handling skills
and confidence were both low. The hairpin turns and steep inclines kept
me from even blinking. I wished for tires with tread left on them.
My brakes seemed sluggish, and only after a while did I realize that
they weren't overheating, but that the rims of my wheels were wet and
the brakes were slipping. I slowed down as the rain turned into a
torrential downpour. The sleeves of my shirt hung loosely from my
elbows and my shorts and socks were drenched to the point where I knew
I could wring a liter of water from them once I stopped.
I started talking to myself: I wanted to go faster to get it over with,
but I knew I wasn't going to freeze to death if I just went slow and
made not-crashing my main priority. I had no idea how fast I could take
the turns without slipping out: my tires weren't too great, the road was
now a rivulet, and visibility was going down. I looked up at Green Mtn
and I could no longer see the summit, shrouded by a black cloud now.
The worst moment was just after the Flagstaff Mountain summit when I swung
out left to make a big right and another cyclist screamed at me because
I had veered into his line as he was trying to pass me. I had no idea
he was even there. The sound of the rain was so loud I could hear nothing else.
Back at the car, I didn't even load my bike: just leaned it against
the bumper and got in to try and warm up in front of the heater.
Thirty minutes later I was back in Superior and it wasn't even raining.
I must have looked odd coming out of my car soaking wet, hair drenched,
backpack leaking water. Sandra just shook her head.
An hour later I was at Lakeshore Athletic Club, sitting in the Jacuzzi
with jets spraying my knees and hips. They'll probably hurt tomorrow
anyway.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Recovery Run
Out to Doudy Draw; walked a mile, ran slow (144 max HR) for 2 miles, walked another mile. In the rain.
This is supposed to be good for my recovery, or so I read. Felt fine.
This is supposed to be good for my recovery, or so I read. Felt fine.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Flagstaff
Back to Flagstaff. I really enjoy this outing, despite the fact it is so so painful. I never seem to just take it easy, when I probably should some of the time.
24:20 (intervals) to the top. This is 32 secs faster than last time. Probably due to being a few pounds lighter.
It being Monday, there weren't a ton of cars up top, but I resolved to walk down the road and see if I could hitch a ride. No luck. Apparently fat old guys aren't attractive to random tourists on a Monday afternoon.
I gave up at R6 and plunged down the Flagstaff trail, trying to take it easy. I think the descent took longer than the climb up!
24:20 (intervals) to the top. This is 32 secs faster than last time. Probably due to being a few pounds lighter.
It being Monday, there weren't a ton of cars up top, but I resolved to walk down the road and see if I could hitch a ride. No luck. Apparently fat old guys aren't attractive to random tourists on a Monday afternoon.
I gave up at R6 and plunged down the Flagstaff trail, trying to take it easy. I think the descent took longer than the climb up!
R1 7:09 7:09
R2 1:34 8:43
R3 1:28 10:12
R4 44 10:56
R5 3:46 14:42
R6 3:58 18:40
R7 5:40 24:20
Friday, June 4, 2010
Brainard recon
Audubon's on the training plan for our Long's Peak prep, so Andy and I headed up to check out the trail conditions and maybe do a flat hike in the area nearby.
The winter gate was still closed, which was good and bad: we'd have to walk 3 miles to get to the trails, but on the other hand, no fee!
At 10,000 feet the air smells different. You could blindfold me and plug my ears, and I'd know I was at altitude in the forest just from the scent. I love it.
Clouds everywhere, but I didn't even bring a jacket. It was 2pm.
We walked the paved road, slightly uphill, for about an hour to reach the Audubon trailhead. A few patches of snow along the road looked like they'd be trivial to plow up as soon as the Forest Service decided to open things up.
The trail, on the other hand, was pretty snowy (at least the part we could see, in the trees!). We'll probably have to wait another month before it's snow-free. But no worries... so many other things to do in the meantime!
Round trip was about 2hrs... about 10 other people up there.
The winter gate was still closed, which was good and bad: we'd have to walk 3 miles to get to the trails, but on the other hand, no fee!
At 10,000 feet the air smells different. You could blindfold me and plug my ears, and I'd know I was at altitude in the forest just from the scent. I love it.
Clouds everywhere, but I didn't even bring a jacket. It was 2pm.
We walked the paved road, slightly uphill, for about an hour to reach the Audubon trailhead. A few patches of snow along the road looked like they'd be trivial to plow up as soon as the Forest Service decided to open things up.
The trail, on the other hand, was pretty snowy (at least the part we could see, in the trees!). We'll probably have to wait another month before it's snow-free. But no worries... so many other things to do in the meantime!
Round trip was about 2hrs... about 10 other people up there.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Flagstaff with a real watch!
Only 3 days after my last lap up Flag. Am I pushing things? I have been off the couch less than 3 weeks.
Sandra once again is going to pick me up on top! So kind of her...
Running to the first road junction once again barely involves running after the first couple of minutes. The trail starts out pretty gentle, but gets steep quickly. Just before R1 (the first road crossing) it gets very steep with huge steps made of rock. I can't run these (or if I did, I'd just blow up and be done). I hit R1 in 7:28... wow. My PR from years ago is 6:24, and Bill's PR split is 5:59 (and he wasn't doing intervals!).
The few splits are gentler, and I started jogging a bit more now. Unf, I had gone too hard down low, and I ended up walking sections that were very runnable.
At R6 (the last crossing before the top) Sandra pulled over and Jesse (my 7yr old) asked to go with me. I nodded "yes" (I couldn't talk).
Jesse headed up the last section ahead of me, and after 1min I called out for the 1min rest. He said, "Why are we stopping? I'm not even tired!" Lol. Already bested by my son.
After two more intervals Jesse was begging me to slow down (he needs to learn about pacing!). Finished in 24:52 (48:52 elapsed), with HR hitting 178 on the steep part on the last split. My resting pulse right now is 52.
This was the hardest effort I'd put out in the past month; I was pretty destroyed.
Sandra once again is going to pick me up on top! So kind of her...
Running to the first road junction once again barely involves running after the first couple of minutes. The trail starts out pretty gentle, but gets steep quickly. Just before R1 (the first road crossing) it gets very steep with huge steps made of rock. I can't run these (or if I did, I'd just blow up and be done). I hit R1 in 7:28... wow. My PR from years ago is 6:24, and Bill's PR split is 5:59 (and he wasn't doing intervals!).
The few splits are gentler, and I started jogging a bit more now. Unf, I had gone too hard down low, and I ended up walking sections that were very runnable.
At R6 (the last crossing before the top) Sandra pulled over and Jesse (my 7yr old) asked to go with me. I nodded "yes" (I couldn't talk).
Jesse headed up the last section ahead of me, and after 1min I called out for the 1min rest. He said, "Why are we stopping? I'm not even tired!" Lol. Already bested by my son.
After two more intervals Jesse was begging me to slow down (he needs to learn about pacing!). Finished in 24:52 (48:52 elapsed), with HR hitting 178 on the steep part on the last split. My resting pulse right now is 52.
This was the hardest effort I'd put out in the past month; I was pretty destroyed.
R1 7:28 7:28
R2 1:49 9:16
R3 1:43 11:00
R4 44 11:44
R5 3:54 15:38
R6 3:58 19:36
R7 5:16 24:52
Monday, May 31, 2010
Family Day
We were supposed to ride about 10miles on bikes, but Davis immediately retaliated (he is 4 yrs old) and went on strike. So we had to cut it short: about 5 miles total, with much of it involving me pushing on his bike as I pedaled (he's so short, it's actually hard to do this and maintain my balance!).
Scale says 201lbs.
Scale says 201lbs.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
My Old Friend
I hadn't been on Flagstaff in a long long time. But it's my favorite uphill trail around Boulder, and I used to "run" it quite a bit.
The "run" is in quotes because I either (a) did it continuously, without stopping, which meant I walked a ton of it or (b) I did it in Matt Carpenter intervals (1min on, 1min off) where I could run most of it.
It's more fun to do (b) for a few reasons: the pain comes in measured doses, I get to stretch in between, and mostly because I can pretend that my overall running time is "real" and compare it to the big name runners.
I past years I had run about 20:50 PR "pretend" time (in other words, it was 40:50 elasped, but I was stopped on the trail for 20 of those minutes). Pretty pathetic when you think that Bill W has run 19:08 and the FKT is 16mins or so. But comparing myself to people who are much fitter is really pointless. I'm just having fun in my own slow way.
I had borrowed a watch that could take splits, but really didn't figure out how it worked very well. I went out at what felt like a roaring pace, doing my 1on, 1off thing. I hit the first road crossing in 14:28 (so 7:28 running time), but had hiked the majority already even with the rest breaks. So out of shape! I weighed just over 200lbs, whereas the last time I had done this I weighed about 165. Potato chips can do that to a person.
The watch wasn't working as I expected, so I gave up on the 1on, 1off thing and just slow-hiked to the summit in 44:41 total. I don't even know what my continuous PR is for Flagstaff.
Sandra picked me up on top. This is part of my "amazing strategy" to not get injured: I'll go uphill only, and avoid running down so my body has very little impact. Uphill running is low-impact (the ground "rises up" to meet you!) but still gets the HR up!
Disappointed at being this slow, but I'll get faster and the weight will drop too, adding to the improvements.
The "run" is in quotes because I either (a) did it continuously, without stopping, which meant I walked a ton of it or (b) I did it in Matt Carpenter intervals (1min on, 1min off) where I could run most of it.
It's more fun to do (b) for a few reasons: the pain comes in measured doses, I get to stretch in between, and mostly because I can pretend that my overall running time is "real" and compare it to the big name runners.
I past years I had run about 20:50 PR "pretend" time (in other words, it was 40:50 elasped, but I was stopped on the trail for 20 of those minutes). Pretty pathetic when you think that Bill W has run 19:08 and the FKT is 16mins or so. But comparing myself to people who are much fitter is really pointless. I'm just having fun in my own slow way.
I had borrowed a watch that could take splits, but really didn't figure out how it worked very well. I went out at what felt like a roaring pace, doing my 1on, 1off thing. I hit the first road crossing in 14:28 (so 7:28 running time), but had hiked the majority already even with the rest breaks. So out of shape! I weighed just over 200lbs, whereas the last time I had done this I weighed about 165. Potato chips can do that to a person.
The watch wasn't working as I expected, so I gave up on the 1on, 1off thing and just slow-hiked to the summit in 44:41 total. I don't even know what my continuous PR is for Flagstaff.
Sandra picked me up on top. This is part of my "amazing strategy" to not get injured: I'll go uphill only, and avoid running down so my body has very little impact. Uphill running is low-impact (the ground "rises up" to meet you!) but still gets the HR up!
Disappointed at being this slow, but I'll get faster and the weight will drop too, adding to the improvements.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Longs or Bust!
My brother-in-law Andy and I have agreed to do Longs Peak this year as a fitness goal.
This blog is now about my training toward getting that done. Wish us luck!
This blog is now about my training toward getting that done. Wish us luck!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Doudy Draw
A week since the last hike. I'm finally well again, without much more mileage, but I'm trying to stay positive and keep moving.
Today it was over 90 in Boulder, so I packed up two bottles of ice water and headed to the Flatirons Vista TH south of the 128 intersection with 93. Being solo, I timed the walk. I had to use my cell phone since I don't own a watch (I ordered a nice Suunto HR monitor watch... it's in the mail). I vowed to stop and drink/stretch every 20mins (roughly once each mile).
It was hot, few people were out. I went west to the Doudy Draw trail, took some photos, said hi to the trail crew working near the bridge, then did the long flat hot Community Ditch trail back to 93. Crossed here, fearing for my life... in fact, crossing this road was the only running I did. It was mandatory!
South up the Greenbelt Plateau trail, across 93 again (with a crosswalk this time) and back to the car. 2:08, so about 19min miles for the 6.7 mile hike. Nothing special, but at least I got some mileage in.
Today it was over 90 in Boulder, so I packed up two bottles of ice water and headed to the Flatirons Vista TH south of the 128 intersection with 93. Being solo, I timed the walk. I had to use my cell phone since I don't own a watch (I ordered a nice Suunto HR monitor watch... it's in the mail). I vowed to stop and drink/stretch every 20mins (roughly once each mile).
It was hot, few people were out. I went west to the Doudy Draw trail, took some photos, said hi to the trail crew working near the bridge, then did the long flat hot Community Ditch trail back to 93. Crossed here, fearing for my life... in fact, crossing this road was the only running I did. It was mandatory!
South up the Greenbelt Plateau trail, across 93 again (with a crosswalk this time) and back to the car. 2:08, so about 19min miles for the 6.7 mile hike. Nothing special, but at least I got some mileage in.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Royal Arch -- Revisited
Ok, since doing Royal Arch 9 days ago I haven't done anything significant: 1-2 hrs of walking around my neighborhood, often pushing my two boys in a bike trailer late at night. They enjoy it, and it's a workout for me.
Today we went back to Royal Arch, again with my brother-in-law Andy and my 4 yr old Davis. This time I carried Davis quite a bit, including during the uphill. I ran a little as well. We took a wrong turn on the way back, ending up on the 1st/2nd Flatirons trail for awhile before turning around.
We spent maybe 2-3 hrs walking around, and I felt spectacular.
Unfortunately the following day I fell ill: dizziness and nausea for 3 days. This is an 11-year old illness for me: I get sick after I push myself athletically. Anywhere from 1-3 days. Sucks.
So I did nothing May 21-23.
Today we went back to Royal Arch, again with my brother-in-law Andy and my 4 yr old Davis. This time I carried Davis quite a bit, including during the uphill. I ran a little as well. We took a wrong turn on the way back, ending up on the 1st/2nd Flatirons trail for awhile before turning around.
We spent maybe 2-3 hrs walking around, and I felt spectacular.
Unfortunately the following day I fell ill: dizziness and nausea for 3 days. This is an 11-year old illness for me: I get sick after I push myself athletically. Anywhere from 1-3 days. Sucks.
So I did nothing May 21-23.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Seems like a good idea
I decided to start a training blog, mostly for my friends who want to keep up with what I've been up to. I don't harbor any illusions about being an amazing athlete... just an old slow guy with a lot of passion and enthusiasm.
After finishing a 7 year stint on the couch, I went out for my first hike on May 11th up to the Royal Arch. This was all walking, and my good friend Scott (a professor from Texas) came along. Also, my brother-in-law Andy joined us, as well as my 4 year old son, Davis (who was mostly carried).
Andy was clearly the strongest of us, so he did most of the carrying.
I had never been to the Royal Arch before. I hear there's a way to climb on top of it, but I couldn't discover an easy way (by "easy", I mean 4th class).
The trail was very steep in the last 1/4 mile, and I was pretty tired by the time we finished; the walk down was casual.
It was after this hike I decided to start trying to get fit again. It's gonna be a long slow painful journey, but I'm already psyched.
After finishing a 7 year stint on the couch, I went out for my first hike on May 11th up to the Royal Arch. This was all walking, and my good friend Scott (a professor from Texas) came along. Also, my brother-in-law Andy joined us, as well as my 4 year old son, Davis (who was mostly carried).
Andy was clearly the strongest of us, so he did most of the carrying.
I had never been to the Royal Arch before. I hear there's a way to climb on top of it, but I couldn't discover an easy way (by "easy", I mean 4th class).
The trail was very steep in the last 1/4 mile, and I was pretty tired by the time we finished; the walk down was casual.
It was after this hike I decided to start trying to get fit again. It's gonna be a long slow painful journey, but I'm already psyched.
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