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Sent: Friday, March 07, 2003 4:49 PM
Subject: Incline Club V7 LR #16
Hi there ICers,
It is time to move into the second phase of our training cycle! In about a month we will be starting our Thursday quality runs. However I feel it is very important that you start adding in some quality stuff during the week now so that the club workouts won’t come as a shock and potentially get you hurt. If you are already doing some quality during the week then great. Otherwise, nothing too fancy is required. I recommend 20 minutes of 1 minute hard, 1 minute easy with a good warm-up and cool-down. This works out to 10 hard minutes and will be plenty to ease the transition into the Thursday club workouts. Perhaps once a week for 2 weeks and then twice a week for the next 2 weeks. You can do them on the flats or on a hill.
This is an important step! We have been working hard on building a base. However there is only so much that can be accomplished by running long runs. They make you fit and they make you strong but they don’t make you fast. Also take note to back off a little on the effort of your long runs during the transition so that your body can adapt.
Finally, someone told me that there could be more snow this weekend. I say bring it on! Sure it is hard but do you think Pikes Peak will take pity on you because it snowed on your long run and you stayed home?
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NEXT RUN:
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Sunday, March 9, 8:00am — Memorial Park
Run out El Paso Blvd and turn right before Hwy 24. Take dirt shortcut to Crystal Park Rd and take it uphill to just before the gate. Run Intemann Trail until it connects with Section 16. Run that until taking a left onto High Drive back down to the asphalt. Take the far left fork to get back to Section 16. Finish the loop and return via Manitou Avenue. 2-3.5 hours. See Map! (http://www.inclineclub.com/maps/section16.htm)
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ICers WRITE:
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Sid Ruby writes:
I’m glad to hear Karen Scott is doing well. I remember reading about her in the IC newsletter, and heard about this runner, so I’ve been wondering how she was doing. Seriously, I was wondering if she would do/has done a race report on things done right/wrong? I don’t mean to be insensitive about the gravity of her ordeal, but maybe other runners could benefit (avoid a similar outcome) by reading the lesson if she would be able to talk about that.
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Nicki Rosa writes in part:
Here is something the IC’ers might be interested in. On wet snowy days, NEOPRENE SOCKS are awesome!
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Several write:
Where did you and several others get the gaitors you were wearing to keep the snow out of your shoes?
(Matt C adds: They come in all sizes and most places like Mountain Chalet should have them. They tend to last a little longer than the plastic bags one ICer was wearing!)
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Carl Leivers writes about ICer Tony Krupicka:
Sarah Fitzgerald, Brennan Galloway, Tony Krupicka, and myself are leaving on
March 12th to attempt a trip across the U.S. (10,000+ miles of driving) with
the goal of running a timed mile on a track in each of the lower 48 states,
plus the District of Columbia in only 11 days!
We’ll be posting periodic updates to www.runnersworld.com and more extensive
recountings of our adventures, plus pictures, profiles of the runners,
details of the trip, planned stops, etc. are available at
www.geocities.com/race_the_us
(Matt C adds: Check out the map on the geocities site. There is also a link to 2 people running across the USA as well.)
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Nancy Hobbs writes:
Still not up to the challenge of an Incline Run, but running once per week with Stu in Palmer Park. I have done my longest run of 1:12 a few times, but still have pain in the knee. Anyone who is getting knee surgery should think twice, and perhaps get three opinions and an MRI (my doc told me an MRI wasn’t necessary as he was sure he knew what my problem was — oops, wrong diagnosis)! Jeff is off to Napa Marathon and will report results to get his “r".
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Tom Kelecy writes:
Laura decided that we should use this workout to get in one more longish run prior to tapering for the 37 mile “Run to the Sun” race she signed us up for in 3 weeks (Maui, March 23rd if anyone’s interested). It was also to be exactly our second long run in our grand training plan. We left Memorial Park a little early, around 7:45 AM, in order to give ourselves a BIG head start to accommodate the longer run. Arriving at the park early also provided the added benefit of using the bathrooms there without having to wait.
We did most of the first part of Sunday’s designated run up Rampart Range Road, but instead of turning off at the Williams/Waldo turnoff (no, that would have been too easy), we continued running up Rampart. Matt, Kees and another fast person caught us somewhere before the Williams turnoff. We continued on through the fog and it eventually cleared to magnificent views of Pikes Peak. It was gorgeous with the mist rolling off of it in the morning sunshine. The snow got deeper and the wind picked up the further along we got. We went past what we think is the “overlook” for another 5-10 minutes, about the time Laura got tired of breaking trail, then turned around as the snow got progressively deeper and the tire tracks less stable with the sand-like snow. Then there was the long slog back to Memorial Park where we arrived around 4 hours and 51 minutes after we had begun. The road back into Manitou was wet and ugly, and Laura got blitzed with slushy, cold, dirty water by some pig driving a big truck. (Actually, pigs probably have more brains than this driver, and are better looking)
We had planned to be out longer on the run to accommodate our grand training plan, 5-6 hours, but were wasted from the extra effort of running through the snow. The powder snow that filled the tire ruts would have probably been good training for a beach run. “Run to the Sun,” though it starts at beach level, ends up on Haleakala (a dormant volcano on Maui) at over 10,000 feet. We felt so guilty about cutting the workout short that we decided to continue the workout by stopping by King Soopers to do our shopping for the week. I say “we,” but Laura really doesn’t like me to shop, though I’m not sure why as I consider myself a very savvy shopper and come from a family of expert shoppers. I didn’t press the issue however and just let Laura push me around in the cart while she did most of the shopping. OK. I did help occasionally by tossing junk food into the shopping basket when she wasn’t looking, but she did most of it.
This helped burn a little more energy, but we were still feeling guilty about not having been out at least 10 hours, so that once we got home and Laura put the groceries away and started a clothes wash, I suggested we shovel some of the snow that had accumulated in our yard over the past 12 months. Since we only have one shovel, I took the garden hand trowel and worked on getting snow off of the bird feeder (until I got really tired). Laura worked on the rest of the yard.
Now, I know you all are thinking “Hey, he’s an animal! How does his wife keep up?” I have to admit, watching Laura do all of that work after a fairly exhausting run, but guess what? The measure of a true ultra runner is, when you are feeling sooooo beaten up, pounded down, and knackered that you don’t think you can spare another milli calorie to do one more thing, you just dig down deep, and ask your wife-ee-poo: “when dinner will be ready?” because you haven eaten anything since that package of powdered doughnuts you pilfered at King Soopers while your guilt-ridden wife was deciding which brand of unsalted rice cakes to purchase (“Taste-free” or “New and Improved Taste-free”).
Well, so we didn’t get in a 30 hour run like Laura wanted to. We’ll just deal with it! I didn’t get to totally relax though. While Laura shopped for groceries and finished the laundry and shoveled the yard and did the laundry (second load) and made dinner and massaged my feet and did the laundry (third load), I toiled away on a task appropriate to my training as a Rocket Scientist. I worked on our taxes!
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R REPORTS:
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Connilee Walter reports:
Race = Los Angeles Marathon
Location = Los Angeles, CA
Date = March 2, 2003
Distance = 26.2 miles of hot pavement
Goal = Ummm.. run a marathon?!
Results = Ran it! Finished in 3:18 and change.
Website = http://www.lamarathon.com
General = Why L.A.?? AnneMarie needed to run a spring qualifier for the Comrades Marathon. I hadn’t run a flat marathon in almost two years and figured, what the heck, I’d give it a shot. Also a fun way to celebrate my new age group.
Right = Trained moderately and didn’t get injured pre-race. Ran a January 5k and February 5m to get the legs moving. Alternated long mountain runs to build strength and long flat runs to mimic the race course. Hydrated well.
Wrong = Not prepared for the relative heat of L.A. Would be interested to hear how other Coloradans prepare for such a race but if I were to do it again I would try more treadmill (indoor) runs and noontime runs (if the weather were warm enough here). In hindsight, considering the heat, I went out too hard.
Other Stuff = The LA Marathon course was changed two years ago and is now touted as ‘even flatter and faster’. The first few miles are definitely a gradual down hill but at mile 14 and then again between miles 16-20 there were a few hills that were Ruxton-esque (just as steep but not as long) that were unanticipated. Crowd support was fantastic at start and finish and adequate through the rest of the course. Water and gels were plentiful. Race organization at starting line was poor.
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Steve Bremner reports:
Race = Seoul Marathon
Location = Seuol, Korea
Date = March 2, 2003
Distance = 26.2 miles
General = I ran the Seoul Marathon yesterday. I thought I’d signed up for the Seoul half marathon, but when I looked at my number for the first time Saturday night and saw the word “full” on it I had a sinking feeling. Sure enough when I got up to the race I found out I was entered into the full marathon and naturally since I had my chip already there was no way for them to change it. So I ran the full. My 49th marathon.
I left the apt before 0900 since the race started at 1100. There was no traffic so it took all of 45 minutes to get all the way to the exit to where the marathon would start. The race went along the Han river, downtown Seoul, in an out and back. It was a long way to be counting bridges. Not that I counted, but of course each bridge was a sub goal to attain.
The exit was almost at a dead stop. I found myself trapped between cars and could do nothing for half an hour. Finally we crept forward enough that I could break out of the line going to a parking lot by the river. I quickly found a place to park on the street not 100 yards from the park. When I walked over to see what the hold up was in the parking lot, of course it was FULL! There was no more room for a single car to park, so naturally everyone trying to go into the parking lot was going nowhere! The line from the freeway was actually very long when I first came. I kept to the left until the very last moment before cutting in.
Then as I walked towards the race start further west it turned out that the parking lot everyone was so desperately trying to go into was quite a distance from the race start, about a kilometer. Right next to the race start there was ample parking available!! Very typical for Korea. I imagine the people waiting to enter the parking lot waited patiently until the race was over and parking places became available!
I found a running club from Yongsan (American base in Seoul) that I am a member of called Seoul Synergy near the race start and left my stuff with them, so I didn’t have to go back to the car.
There were many thousands running the marathon. Since the marathon was first I didn’t see the half start, but probably thousands ran that one too.
At the race start it was typical for a Korean race. My number was coded “A” which meant that I was supposed to be in front. Koreans that were not serious runners with codes of C or even F were all up in front. I kept moving to the front line, but being Koreans, I kept getting edged back. Finally when the race started some joker who had kept getting in front of me barely moved at a five hour pace. I pushed him out of the way. Don’t be alarmed. This is accepted behavior in Korea.
A pack of about 10 went out front and I was a little ways back at first in a smaller pack of 4. There were also more in between. After a mile or so I moved up with the front pack because of a head wind. The front pack was large and an effective block of the wind. It was cold and I was cold the whole race. I didn’t bring gloves and I didn’t have any gel because I thought I was running the half. They didn’t have enough electrolytes or any gel. Finally towards the end I was even eating Korean moon pies and snickers bars. One station a woman tried to give me one (1) tiny piece of pineapple!! I reached into the box and grabbed a handful. Everyone squealed.
When I stopped to take a leak about mile 18 I found the toilet so warm that I didn’t want to leave! I was cold all day. The sun never came out because of fog. (and smog of course)
So, I was clicking along pretty famously with a good pace. I made the turn around in 1:18:45. But that was all I had and I knew it. I was done. Not a good feeling half way through a marathon. But, I’ve run enough of these things that I know how to tough it out to finish a difficult marathon. I cut my pace and started walking through the scarce aid stations. The main thing was to keep running and not walk. I succeeded excepting the walk throughs of the aid stations.
I dropped back from the front pack after about five miles when I realized the pace was too fast. I found myself with two Koreans on a team (same uniforms). We kept the front pack in touch (within a minute) for a long time. A single straggler dropped back from the front pack and we worked on picking him up. Finally at an aide station I made a move and left the two Koreans and caught the straggler. I ran with him for a while then tried to move past him since I notice we had slowed our pace by the splits. He kept with me. Finally the two Korean teammates caught up, and that is when I realized I was not going to do well on that day. I backed off and let all of them go. This was still before the turnaround point. I had been trying to calculate what it would take to finish in the top seven before that. I would have had to catch two more from the front pack which I considered likely, since the odds were that at least two were in over their heads. Once I realized that I was in over my head it turned into a survival g ame.
At one point I found myself in 21st place, but after the pee break and the walking through the aid stations and getting replenished I caught a second wind and moved up finishing 17th. I certainly wasn’t speeding up. I ran 22 minute 5K’s to finish. The first 5K’s were 18 minutes. Dumb-- I know. Oh well.
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WWW POSTS:
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3/2/03 Over 10" of new snow bit into the club size today. However 56 were able to get unstuck and come out for a run including the top 24 on the workout board. Once again it was a slick mess down low but once we got off the roads it got better albeit, harder. While the snow really slowed things down it was awesome, especially up high where over 2 feet had fallen in places. Williams Canyon was downright fun in all the deep powder and was also the most popular run today with just 6 opting to head up to Waldo. Up on Waldo we were the first tracks which I had not seen before.
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Go out hard, when it hurts speed up...
Matt Carpenter
http://www.skyrunner.com
Incline Club
http://www.inclinclub.com
Barr Trail Mountain Race
http://www.runpikespeak.com
presented by Pikes Peak National Bank
Friends of the Peak
http://www.fotp.com
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