July 18-24

Happy Pioneer day to those who celebrate it! I remember living in Utah and having this day as a vacation day. I guess no one in Utah is working tomorrow huh? I'll have a Modus Hoperandi and toast the Pioneers! This weekend was simply gorgeous here in Colorado. It was hot but manageable. I fully intended to get high this weekend with CRUD to avoid the heat but I just did not have the energy to drive anywhere. So I stayed close to home and enjoyed the foothills.

I spent the better part of the week in Santa Monica, CA - perfect training for the upcoming SpeedGoat 50K race... flat, super highway of a path on the beach, sea level. Just gotta laugh at the timing of that trip. I will tell you though that I am feeling quite strong right now despite the flatness of the week. For instance, at Deer Creek yesterday I managed 8:50 pace with nearly 5K of climbing. Somehow the desire and motivation has returned and not much time to spare before UTMB, which is a short 33 days away.

I am really looking forward to racing and seeing family and friends next week in Utah. Too bad I can't stay for the OR show. Here is my week in review:

Monday - Coyote Ridge 10+ myles

Tuesday - Santa Monica 6 myles

Wednesday - Santa Monica 6 myles

Thursday - Santa Monica 8 myles

Friday - Coyote Ridge 11 myles

Saturday - Deer Creek 16+ myles

Sunday - Grigs 8 myles

Total - 66 myles, 9997 ft of climbing, 8 hrs 33 mins

This past week I pulled some workouts from the Paul Dewitt files from yester-year. His approach was centered around quality and not quantity while incorporating some steeps. I think it's always a good idea to mix things up to make it fresh and that's all I'm doing here; trying to keep it fresh and exciting for this 41 year old soul.

And last I put this picture up because it's strange how cyclical things are in life. Soccer, which once was the life blood of my life, has re-entered in the form of Myles. He shows a lot of interest just kicking the ball around, putting on his soccer uniforms and such. Last week I did a skills session for one of my colleagues son (and friends) in Seward, NE, last night we went to a Rapids MLS game. I have a feeling the shift back to soccer is starting to happen again... I don't mind a'tall.

Sportin the Weber State Wildcats purple

July 11-17

Ola mi amigos! Finally get to put some thoughts to a blogpost. It's been a busy time for the past two weeks and for some reason I have been feeling extremely UNmotivated to run. There is no fire in my belly or any urgency to run. So apparently WS took all the wind out of my sail, more so than I first thought.

Every year I get lazy and just don't want to run but that usually happens around late September/early October. The routine has usually been to train for HR all summer, run HR, and then coast through August and September with a good base. Since no HR and WS being in June I have a feeling my mind has slipped into coast mode a little too soon. That is until I caught myself this morning while watching a replay of Ironman Hawaii. NBC knows how to produce stories that become tear jerkers. I love the will power of the human spirit. NBC needs to come and do a piece on Hard Rock, I guarantee there are stories that will inspire. So after watching and feeling inspired, I decided to get some uptempo/hill work in. It was a little test to see where my LT was sitting and I gotta say I'm a little disappointed. Check out the stats here. I usually make it up the hill (0.75 myles with 5% grade) in 5:10 at least 5 times. I started to feel that lactate build on the 3rd set so there is work to be done. I've got some big races coming up: Sierre-Zinal - which is considered the biggest mountain race in the world, UTMB - by far the biggest 100 mile race in the world, and before all that fun in Europe the sadistic SpeedGoat 50K in a couple of weeks. Hopefully I can burn the legs and lungs at SG50K to get ready for the lung burning that will happen at SZ.

Before I move onto my week, I just want to say a few words about my pacing duties at HR last weekend. What an honor. Hard Rock is such an extraordinary event and to get the opportunity to crew and pace a good friend and teammate Nick Clark was an honor. This was the first time I was involved in the race and not racing, which meant I had the time to spend with some quality people. Don't get me wrong, it's a lot of work crewing (driving around) but it's going around in a caravan of people that are doing and thinking the same thing. Besides we are right smack in the middle of the San Juan mountains - it doesn't get any better. I chatted with so many people for quite a while whom I normally only get to see during the race. So to all those people I chatted with - it was good to catch up with you! And to those I met - it was nice to meet you and hope our paths cross again.

Enough about that, more about Nick. He was stellar all day. He looked a little haggard coming into Grouse Gulch but he didn't complain, just changed his shoes, and ran up Engineer road with his pacer Brendan Trimboli. Speaking of which, Brendan is a young guy who will be one watch in the coming years - talented and motivated. I waited around Grouse for while longer for Darcy to come through and cheer another PI teammate on, she was right behind Diana and the race was on. Because I waited at Grouse I had to race around to Ouray to catch Nick, made it just in time, laid out his clothing options and got him on his way. Note: I learned that crew should not give options to the runner to make decisions but rather the crew should give them what they need for the journey ahead. I made the mistake early on of giving Nick options and could tell he was not making decisions very quickly or decisively.

Nick and Brendan leave Ouray and I make the long drive over to Telluride where I think I have some down time to get myself ready for the 30 mile journey back home to Silverton. Not so, Julian came in to Telluride just after 11 PM with Dakota and Nick to follow about 1/2 hour later. From here Nick's report gives you a very good detailed report of what happened on the trail, I'll just add a few things.

What makes Nick so extraordinary is that he was hurting but he kept moving forward, not once did he stop to sit on a rock. I really believe that is the key to doing well at HR - keep moving forward. I did a lot of pulling on Nick, not saying anything but just picking up the pace here and there (sometimes into a jog) and Nick would follow. I remember some of my best pacers would do that to me and it made me so mad at the time but in hind sight that's what a pacer is for - to keep the runner on pace (and not lost). We caught glimpses of Dakota and Troy's lights every now and again and that was enough to keep us going. When day broke we were surprised to see Dakota and Troy just leaving Putnam and we got a little fire in the belly. We made a strong -I mean strong- push up the 3 climbs out of Putnam and when we finally got in the clearing and saw how far up Dakota was on the ridge, my heart sank. I know we both powered up that hill with a lot of running stints but Dakota was not gonna be caught. He could smell the barn and was hiking/running strong. Nick still powered home strong and in the end carved out a nice little record for himself - the WS/HR double. This record will stand for quite some time. Congrats to all who finished! And as far as the shoe thing is concerned.... I could not believe when I heard Nick say "uh oh" and watched his shoe tumble towards a cliff. It's funny now but at that moment sliding on my butt towards the cliff I was scared shit less.

Now. Back to my week. Like I said before, very UNmotivated and lots of travel. Not to mention, my quads were sore through Wednesday - Nick worked me over!

Monday - no way too sore

Tuesday - 6 myles Bluffs

Wednesday - 6 myles KC Indian creek trail

Thursday - too lazy but did play a bit of soccer in Seward, NE

Friday - 8+ Matthews Winters

Saturday - 10+ myles HR backcountry

Sunday - 10+ myles Bluffs loop

Total - 42 myles, 5 hrs 32 mins, 5778 ft of climbing (60 myles the week before)

June 27 - July 3

Before I say anything else I want to say "thank you" for all who posted a comment on my blog last week. Even if you didn't post a comment but just read "thank you". Or if we chatted at WS before, during, or after "thank you". It made me realize that I am really fortunate to participate in this ultra sport with a bunch really cool, genuine people.

Sometimes I have a tendency to put a bunch of pressure on myself for no other reason than to see what I am capable of doing, genetically speaking. And what better arena to do that with the best of the best. Put the work in and see what you got. It didn't happen this time, and maybe I'll never live up to my own internal expectations, but I am honored to toe the line every time (and then drink beer). So believe it or not, I have moved on but this is what happens after a week of sitting around eating a bunch of bad bad food, drinking a slew of good good beer, and resting - it's all part of the process. So bring on the SpeedGoat, Sierre-Zinal, and UTMB - Wow! Now that's a pretty cool line up!

But first things first, I'm pacing Nick Clark at HR next weekend. And. I. Can't. Wait! This will be the first time at HR that I can relax and visit with some really cool people - my HR family. Starting with Dale Garland. Yes he's busy during this time but for some reason that guy seems to have time for everyone. Next is Bill Dooper. Bill is the quintessential HR fan. I met him there a about 4 years ago and we have been good friends ever since. The Darnold's. My South Mineral campground host friends that took me in 3 years ago and have kept in touch ever since. In fact, last year they volunteered at the Chapman aid station to show their support for this race. This would be a book long post if I named everyone so I'll stop there. Looking forward to seeing you all!

Now on to pacing Nick. Nick is coming off a stellar WS, where 1 year ago he burst onto the ultra scene. Not really in my eyes cause around here in Colorado he was layin down some fast times before then, but to people outside of Colorado WS 2010 was his welcome party. He will be tired, I know, but Nick is tough and laser focused. Coupled with my course knowledge we will be fast from Telluride in, I know it. So Nick if you're reading, here is what your looking at for splits:

• Telluride to Chapman 3 hours (9 myles) - one climb that looks like Hope pass outbound
• Chapman to KT 2.25 (7 myles) - two tiered climb up and over Grant-Swamp
• KT to Putnam 1.55 (5.5 myles) - 3 tiered climb +1 short stout climb
• Putnam to Finish 1.05 (6 myles) - downhill to the highway and then rolling to the finish.

Karl's probably looking at these splits saying "hmm looks very similar to my 09..." Well they are Karl! This was the year you finally put a blazing finish in this direction, other years you have struggled in this section (Telluride to KT).

Last, my week was packed with burritos, beer, burgers, and bon-bons. I think my body was ready to run by Wednesday but the mind didn't come around till Saturday so it was no rush. Here's what that looked like:

Monday - nothing

Tuesday - zilch

Wednesday - nada

Thursday - nope

Friday - negative

Saturday - 9 myles Coyote Ridge - slow and steady

Sunday - 9 myles HR backcountry - fun, happy to be on the trails.

Total - 18 myles, 2 hrs 26 mins, 2230 ft of climbing.

Alright my friends and family, have a happy and safe 4th of July. Kinda weird not being in Silverton for the greatest fireworks display on the earth.

Me and my cool boys

WS Thoughts

It's finally here! Thursday morning in Squaw Valley already has the feel of Christmas morning. People are starting to roll in, the snow is melting fast, Pearl Izumi deliveries from UPS, and the pre-race splits and drop bag planning has begun.

My family and I arrived in Reno on Sunday for a much needed family vacation. With me being gone most of the year on a plane somewhere, it was finally nice to have my family at my side on a plane for once. We settled into the PI house and for the past several days have been doing the activities in and around Lake Tahoe. The weather in these parts have been absolutely spectacular, clear and hovering in the upper 80s. I could see myself as a Tahoe City resident very easily. Andy Jones-Wilkins and his family joined us on Tuesday and it has been quite a treat hanging out with them at the house. While I've been tapping into the immense WS knowledge, Nicole and Shelly have been sharing ultra crew war stories, and the boys have been enjoying their time with the JW boys.

On the running side of things, I have been feeling amazing! To give you an example, I did mile repeats on Tuesday in 5:54, 5:59, 6:02, 5:53 and did not feel stressed, just cruising. These were supposed to be done in ~6:20 but just couldn't hold back. I hate to even say how good I feel because I don't want to jinx it but I can't deny how refreshed my body and mind feel. For the first time all year I've taken a proper 3 week taper: 65, 45, and probably 22 myles this week. Going through a taper is always such a mind game; one day feeling like you have never ran with sludge in the legs to the next day feeling like you can run sub 4 minute mile repeats while having a conversation. I'm sure the body doesn't know what to think and only responds to what it's been used to; 80+ myles and 12 hours of running a week. To be quite honest, I think I have finally broken through the taper twitches and at the same time don't have any real aches when first rising in the morning.

Blog wise it's been fun looking at all the predictions and I don't think it comes as any surprise the top 5 are: Roes, Killian, Clark, Koerner, and Mackey. There are so many talented runners from all over the world so it will be interesting to see how things play out in the end. That's why we run the race. Who will have the best day? Personally I hope to not get caught up in the hype, run my race, and enjoy the experience. Good luck to all, and in particular, my PI teammates Nick Clark and Timothy Olson.

Tonight Pearl Izumi will be hosting a low key BarBQ at 6 PM at the PI house. If you are in town, stop by and say hello. Nick Clark will be signing autographs...

June 6-12

13 days. The big juan can't come soon enough! These next two weeks are brutal: excitement, doubt, anxiety, weight gain, and planning. All going on in the head while trying to maintain some sort of normalcy in the family and work life.

Everyone hates the taper because it's not an exact science. What is known though is that rest is needed to unload fatigue and restore the endocrine system, especially for 100 myles. I've done 4, 3, and two week tapers for 100 mile races. I even entered Wasatch a few years ago with no running at all in 22 days... albeit a injury, not recommended because fitness was definitely lost. Going into all 4 of my races this spring I did not take a taper, hoping to build endurance. Going into WS I will have a proper 3 week taper (65, 45, 20), something like that. While decreasing the volume, the intensity will go up to keep the tension in the key muscles. Hopefully the right ratio to get me to the start line ready to go.

My spring racing has been mediocre at best. I'm OK with that. I approached races differently this year; going in a little cooked and hoping for the best. In years past I would have a proper taper for each race with a 4 week mini cycle between each, creating multiple peaks. This year I've sacrificed races in hopes of making one peak on June 25th. We will see if it works. Take a look at my weekly - monthly mileage up to this point:

January

83, 80, 69, 85 - 344

February

83, 80, 74 (race week), 79 - 319

March

87, 83, 64 (race week), 89 - 351

April

80, 100 (race week), 90, 103, 73 - 399

May

82 (race week), 61, 88, 87 - 353

June

107, 65 - 147

Here is my latest week:

Monday - rare day off

Tuesday - 6 myles Bluffs

Wednesday - 9 myles Backcountry progression run

Thursday - AM 10 myles Bluffs Interval hill work

PM 4 myles East/West trail

Friday - 4 myles Grigs

Saturday - 24 myles Pikes Peak

Sunday - 8 myles Backcountry

Total - 65 myles, 9 hrs 1 min, 10, 295 ft climbing

One thing to point out, I didn't actually run up Pikes Peak on Saturday but rather on trails around the peak. The route was Longs Ranch Road, Bob's, Barr, Elk Park and back. I firmly believe that the Elk Park trail is one of the finest single track running trails in the nation! It's about 6 myles long (all above 10K) with everything from smooth and flat, rolling hills, one lung busting climb, technical stuff, beauty, and best of all - hardly anyone on it. Next week I'll put up some stats on some killer climbs some of my friends run and compare it to the ones I know. For instance, Sun Valley has Carbo, Ft Collins has the Towers, Boulder has Green, Denver has Mt Falcon (to the shelter), and Colorado Springs has Barr and Longs Ranch Road. To give you a glimpse, Longs Ranch Road is 3.3 myles and 2500ft of gain. I busted a lung yesterday in a time of 35:14 - ouch.

May 30 - June 5

My 10 day 'camp' ended today. Final tally was 177 myles, 29,756 ft of climbing, and just over 26 hours on the feet. In fact, in a 7 day period I logged 124 myles and 22K of climbing.

Why 10 days you might ask? Well to be quite honest it was the amount of time, after all my travel, until I had to start the proper taper. It just came out to be 10 days. My initial goal was 200 myles and 30K of climbing so I didn't quite make those numbers but I didn't think about easy days either. Overall, pretty happy with my fitness. Now it is time to dial it in! I've never been good about a proper taper so this is where Lucho cinches down the bolts and makes me sharper than razors edge. The volume will come down but the intensity will go up. And hopefully over the next 3 weeks I will unload the fatigue and restore the endocrine system.

On another note, I commented last week that it was a 3 man race for the Montrail Cup. It is and it isn't. I read on Mackey's blog that all he had to do was finish WS to win it... I was perplexed so I went back to actually read the rules. Turns out they take the 4 highest scores. And as Dan Olmstead commented on my blog, Mackey is up by ~7 hours, based on a 15.30 winner at WS. Dan is up on me by ~20 minutes and PI teammate TAO is behind me by 2 hours. Now it's all predictive of the winners' time at WS but at least that gives us a ballpark figure. There is no doubt in my mind Mackey deserves the cup, he has been relentless by winning all his MUC races.

Last, I watched the news last night and saw that the Sierra's got blasted with another foot of snow! Maybe I should get some insurance on my plane tickets huh? I can't see them canceling WS but you never know. I happen to like all the snow. Reminiscent of Hard Rock.

Here's how the week unfolded:

Monday - 9 myles HR backcountry

Tuesday - AM 10 myles HR backcountry

PM 6 myles The Bluffs

Wednesday - 13 myles Mt Falcon (3 x lower repeats)

Thursday - AM 8 myles KC

PM 8 myles HR backcountry

Friday - 6 myles East/West trail (some with Jaxon)

Saturday - 27 myles Sharptail/Indian Creek

Sunday - 20 myles South Platte Pkwy

Total - 107 myles, 14 hrs 31 mins, 17,003 ft of climbing

I'll leave you with this photo I took from last year at the pre-race.

Check out the guy on the far left. That guy is SERIOUS!

May 23-29

Finally some time to put some thoughts on a blog post. I've been MIA for couple of weeks but I assure not because I've been lazy. Sometimes life happens fast and furious and all we can do is hang on for the ride. Since the beginning of the year I've accumulated over 40,000 myles flying while staying over 70 nights in a hotel - such an illustrious life. In fact, there was a 3 week succession I went from Palm Springs, Miwok for the weekend with my wife, back to San Francisco, home for 48 hours and squeezed in a U2 concert (thanks Joe), and then to Richmond, VA. If anything, it will be a nice FREE vacation for me and my family when all said and done with the points I've racked up. Speaking of vacation, all reservations have been made for Squaw Valley starting on June 19th and returning home the following Sunday. I'm hoping for some relaxing time to have fun with the family waiting for the Big Juan.

Because of my travel for work (up until last Thursday) I have been feeling way under trained mentally. Even though I've been regularly hitting 80 myles a week and an occasional race, I didn't feel the focus I needed to have a great race in June. That was until Thursday. Friday, Saturday, and today have been a different story - a total of 70 myles and nearly 13K of climbing. Nothing like this guy or this guy but I feel I'm back on track to have a good race. I'm not done yet, I plan on having a 10 day period of this kind of work and then straight into a proper taper leading up to the race. The nice thing about WS is that there are so many good runners I have flown under the radar with mediocre results thus far this season. No expectations on my part and no pressure to perform.... mmm, I take that back. There is the Montrail Ultra Cup in which I am in contention. Right now it's a 3 man race for 1st between Mackey, Olmstead, and myself. $5K for 1st, $2K for 2nd, and $1K for 3rd. Mackey has been unstoppable lately, while I've been faltering late in races, and he is only 0.07 pts behind me. Tall order I know but it is 100 myles and anything can happen.

At any rate, I hope to be posting more frequently as the build up to WS begins. Here is my most recent week:

Monday - 7.2 myles Belle Island Richmond, VA

Tuesday - 4 myles VCU Richmond, VA

Wednesday - 6.2 myles Richmond, VA

Thursday - Travel

Friday - AM 15 myles Deer Creek

PM 6 myles The Bluffs

Saturday - 18.4 myles Longs Ranch Road

Sunday - 30 myles HR Tour De Trails

Total - 87 myles, 12hr 32 mins, 13,123 ft of climbing

April 25-May 1

Another solid week comes to a close but not without incident. Mileage is picking up week over week as well as more specific leg turn over stuff. With that comes danger of riding the edge too close and injury becomes possible. In fact, for the last 3 weeks I've been noticing a little hitch in my left lower back that was more noticeable after a run, sitting for awhile, then trying to walk. The pain radiates down my left leg (thought I had a calf thing going one) was dull at first then this last week it has gotten more painful and can't walk without a limp. I did a little research and the only thing I can come up with is some sort of Stenosis or Sciatica. I haven't taken any NSAIDS yet during training cause I want to be able to get the benefit from the pills during a race. The strange thing is that I don't notice it while running unless I start thinking about it, but then again, I haven't gone 62 myles yet. I could be overreacting at this point but man it hurts to walk.

At any rate, I'm heading out the door today to Palm Springs for a week and then straight to Miwok - you should see my bag of pills! Optygen HP, Aspirin, and Advil... hope it passes security. Here is what my week looking like:

Monday - OFF???

Tuesday - 11 myles Kokopelli Trail

Wednesday - AM 8 myles HR backcountry

PM 6 myles Bluffs loop

Thursday - 11 myles Grigs hill repeats

Friday - 6 myles Bluffs loop

Saturday - 20 myles Bluffs + Backcountry

Sunday - 11 myles HR backcountry

Total - 73 myles, 9 hrs 35 mins, 7222 ft of climbing

April overall was a good high volume month coming in at 399 myles. 1413 myles for the year.

Wonder when this guy is coming back

April 18-24

Happy Easter everyone! I hope that you all are enjoying some relaxing time with family and/or friends. I know that I am after a very tough week running. With only 10 weeks to go till the Big Juan (prior to this week), I started to get a little antsy with building my base. Week after week since the beginning of the year it has been mellow in terms of HR and climbing. And then BAM! Lucho smacks me with exactly what I was looking for - a week filled with volume, climbing, and speed! It was tough but I'm happy to say I was able to complete it. The reason I was able to complete, albeit tired, was my fitness. I have never been this fit in terms of endurance with Saturday at Mt Falcon for confirmation. I looked back at all my splits for doubles at Falcon over the past 4 years and I have never been able to put even splits on the board, usually 10+ minutes on the second. Either I go out too fast on the first loop and die on the second during the climbs, or I just simply didn't fuel right. Fueling, hydration, and the constant building of endurance has been the theme since January. I now realize I am being sharpened for the biggest race of my ultra running career - Western States. The work is not done but this week has shown me the direction I am going - the sharpening phase of this 25 week training schedule. 9 weeks and counting! Here is what the week looking like:

Monday - 6 myles Bluffs loop

Tuesday - AM 10 myles Casper

PM - 6 myles Lifetime Fitness TM

Wednesday - 12 myles Track (8x800 w/400s in between)

Thursday - AM 9 myles HR backcountry (3 mile progression)

PM 6 myles Bluffs loop

Friday - 6 myles Grigs

Saturday - 28 myles Mt Falcon v2.0 (7877ft of climbing)

Sunday - 20 myles South Platte Pkwy (intervals w/ 3 mile progression)

Total - 103 myles, 14hrs 2mins, 11,900 ft of climbing

And a little secret streak I have been keeping will officially end tomorrow. I have run everyday since Christmas - 121 straight days. But just like records, streaks are meant to be broken. I had visions of running every day this year but for the betterment of my fitness it is time to take a day off. Lucho's guidance after this week - Monday: day off, no options. I got a little hitch in my lower back that is radiating all the way down to my calf so a day off will hopefully help. Talking to Ryan Burch (he had his own little streak), he made a good point that the longer you go, the more risk you take just for the sake of a streak. The goal is Western States and not the streak. Besides, I will never have a streak like Bill Finkbeiner - he has run every day since 1980!! Check out these other streaks. Wow!

Last, a couple of pictures of some cool Kats

Look Dad

Loves his picture taken

Boys doing eggs

April 11-17

"Hey man, nice job in your race. Thanks. But what happened? Whad'ya mean? Well, you fell apart around 40...."

That was an exchange I had earlier this week that set off a whole bunch of emotions from, huh?? Did I fall apart? to being pissed off and everything in between. I'm a cerebral kinda guy so I think about these things on all my runs. Usually on the run I get very angry but then the endorphins shut down and I methodically go about my day. But when I woke up Saturday morning and was pissed -even before I had my coffee- I knew something sparked a fire. A fire deep in my belly is a good thing because it charges and motivates the warrior spirit inside of me. So I started asking myself a bunch of questions this week: Have I lost my competitive edge? Do I settle in races when it gets tough? Am I mentally and physically worn out?

I will admit I "settled" at AR 50. I know this because there was no one in front and no one behind that I could see, until Ellie came prancing up on me. If you remember in my AR 50 report I gritted my teeth and ran as hard as I could when Ellie appeared. If I would have done that at mile 40 would I have come closer to 6:10-:15? The answer is yes. Was I physically capable at mile 40? Retrospectively yes. Believe me-you, I know how mentally tough it is to pick up the pace when the get up and go is gone. But I've done it before. I think the reason we don't and decide to settle is because we are scared. We are scared to hurt beyond belief. And we are scared of the unknown. Let me tell you something that Peter Bakwin told me years ago when I emailed him after his double Hard Rock "Your body will do twice as much as your mind thinks it will - the mind is the limiting factor"

I just want to say thank you to the person I had this exchange with earlier this week. You made me realize I have become soft. And there is no better time to toughen the "EFF" up than RIGHT NOW! You will see something different from me at Miwok, at Pocatello, and at the Big Juan. I will not settle!

So let me ask you, what are you gonna do when it gets tough? Are you gonna settle or are you gonna grit your teeth and give everything you've got? And this goes for life in general as well.

Enough of that. 9 weeks till the Big Juan and I am fit. Now it's time to dial it in and become sharp. Here is what the week looked like:

Monday - 6 myles Bluff loop

Tuesday - 9 myles Waldo canyon

Wednesday - 11 myles HR backcountry

Thursday - 6 myles KC treadmill

Friday - AM 11 myles Coyote Ridge

PM 6 myles Bluffs loop

Saturday - 25 myles Lair o Bear

Sunday - 16 myles HR ubran trails

Total - 90 myles, 12 hours 17 minutes, 9895 ft of climbing

Ran with Patrick Garcia on Saturday for the first loop and then on the second loop ran into Kieran McCarthy (reads the blog) who came over from Falcon trail head. The key workout was actually today where I did 3 x 3 mile (actually 2.3s), which was progressively faster for each. On Tuesday I botched the workout. I was supposed to do 8 x 8 seconds up a steep hill. I thought it said 8 minutes so after 4 x 5:30s up the steep part in Waldo canyon, I had enough. Travel should be settling down for the next couple of weeks so I'm hopeful I can string together a bunch of hometown runs. Take care

Mar 28 - Apr 3

Another solid week. And just as I've stated before, I'm trying to train through all these spring races leading up to the big juan in June. I feel my body has adapted to the stress of running everyday with an average volume of 72 myles/week through 14 weeks for a total of 1014 through the end of March.

This past week was the first time I've actually done track work and mile repeats. The 10 x 400s on Wichita State track were an avg. of 1:19, while the 4 x mile repeats on the Highline Canal were an avg. of 5:50. I'm hoping it doesn't take very long to get the comfort of running those paces and getting the return of the leg speed. This week I also had the pleasure of running with Matt Keddington and Patrick Garcia. My schedule has been busy lately so it was actually refreshing to find time to run with these guys. Matt is looking to take down Manners at Pocatello 20 mile (that's what he said Aric) and Patrick to run away with some cashola at Cheyenne Canon 50K.

Next weekend is the American River 50 mile in Sacramento and I am a little nervous. Stacked field again. I reached back into my running logs to find out what I did to prep for AR last time and I noticed a couple of 30+ mile runs back to back down the South Platte bike path. I didn't do that this time but the volume of my training is about 20 myles higher per week plus I've got two pretty fast 50K's under my belt. But I think the volume, in of itself, will carry me through the final 19 myles of trails better than last time when I bonked pretty good after the 50K mark. It's the first 27 myles that are making me nervous. I will use the force Obe Juan.

Here is the week in review:

Monday - 6 myles The Bluffs

Tuesday - 8 myles Wichita TM

Wednesday - 8 myles Wichita State Track

Thursday - AM 8 myles Grigs loop

PM 6 myles The Bluffs with "The Kid" Matt Keddington

Friday - 10 myles HR backcountry

Saturday - 12 myles Highline Canal

Sunday - 22 myles HR tour de trails with Patrick Garcia

Total - 80 myles, 11 hours 5 minutes, 5837 ft of climbing

March total 351 myles

Now I'm off to Washington D.C. for the week.

Mar 21 - 27

Here we are again. Two posts in one week? Amazing. Where does the time go and who decided to only have 24 hours in a day? The weekend went by blazing fast in which I was able to get in a couple of key runs early in the morning before the family was up and at 'em.

I am amazed at how resilient my body has been lately. I can basically race a hard 50K and turn the next week into a normal training week. Previous years it has usually taken me a good week to feel normal. I have been building a huge base since the beginning of the year and now it's time to enter a new phase of the training program. The next 8 weeks will involve, well... to tell you the truth, I don't know what it will involve. Lucho just said to buckle up and get ready. That's the excitement of having a coach, the mystery of the workouts and see if I am capable of doing them. I have a feeling I'll be in for some hills, heat, leg turnover stuff, and more volume. Perfect. American River is in two weeks and I hope to be hitting my stride by that time. My PR for 50 myles came at AR a few years ago (6:24) so my goal would be to establish a new PR in the 6:10ish range, we will see.

Here is a recap of the week:

Monday - 6 myles San Diego TM

Tuesday - AM 8 myles San Diego TM

PM 5 myles San Diego bay

Wednesday - 8 myles San Diego TM

Thursday - 10 myles HR home trails

Friday - 6 myles Tulsa TM

Saturday - 20 myles Chatfield

Sunday - 25 myles HR home trails

Total - 88 myles, 11 hrs 43 mins, 3206 ft of climbing

Last week 3/14 - 3/20 - 64 myles, 8 hrs 50 mins, 11,040 ft of climbing

Mar 7 - 13

I miss blogging everyday. Not that I ever had anything interesting to say, I just enjoyed the freedom to express my raw thoughts. It was some sort of therapy I guess. But it's all about life balance right? And blogging everyday had to take a back seat to my new job. I still have the time to blog, I just don't have the mental energy to put thoughts down. I still solve the world's problems while out on my runs but those solutions stay stuck in my head and by the time I get to my weekly recap, I've forgotten all of them. I will get better though. The balance will be restored sooner than later. Real quick though (before I forget), last week I spent almost all my runs on the treadmill and I gotta say going to the gym is a great place to people watch. I'm in my own little world with headphones on but still notice quirky things like this: have you every seen someone get on the treadmill, crank it up to something like 20%, and then walk as fast as they can while leaning back and gripping the front of the treadmill? It is the funniest damned thing I have seen at the gym in a while! Do they think they are getting a better workout because they cranked it up? I dunno maybe they want to get an upper body workout too. Cracks me up! Who am I to judge though, they probably laugh at me when I'm making all those funny sounds during a 10 x 30 second sprint session.

Onto my weekly recap:

Monday - 4 myles Grigs

Tuesday - AM 8 myles Bluffs

PM 8 myles Bluffs

Wednesday - 8 myles Sanitas

Thursday - 6 myles Des Moines TM

Friday - AM 8 myles HR backcountry

PM 6 myles Bluffs

Saturday - 18 myles Deer Creek

Sunday - 16 myles HR Tour de Trails

83 myles, 12 hours 34 minutes, 11,492 ft of climbing

The key workouts this week were:

1) Sanitas on Wednesday for the 2 x 20 minutes at HR 165-175. It's the first time in 3 months that I've touched that range. First time up was a little short because I went up the East Ridge and it only took 13 minutes, hurt my lungs a little there. Second time up I went up the Mount Sanitas trail which was 19.41, felt much better. It's almost as if my body remembered how to deal with the stress. I had a avg. HR of 172 and it felt good, wanted to go faster but that 175 was the absolute cap this early in the building stage.

2) Deer Creek on Saturday which is the first time since Ponderous Posterior 50K that I've hit the 4K mark for climbing. This run represented the middle 30K at Chuckanut. It was slow because of the bullet proof ice and I should have known better to bring my microspikes for the wall. During this run I practiced my race day nutrition and hydration which consisted of 1 powerbar, 1 EFS liquid shot wild berry diluted in water, and 1 scoop of Pre-Race in a smaller sprint bottle. The Pre-Race is new to the regimen so I wanted to make sure it would not upset my stomach, like last time. All is good and I got a huge boost mentally from it. I took it 1.45 into the run, started to work at 2 hours, and lasted through 3+ hours.

3) HR tour de trails today is the last of the key workouts. Significant because I ran the last 10K in 40:22 (6:30 pace), not blazing, but on tired legs so I'll take it. This is especially important because Chuckanut ends the same way on a flattish 10K. I kept the HR avg. to 159 so that is pretty comfortable to me but I can tell the leg speed is lagging a bit. Truth be told I haven't done hardly any leg turnover stuff in this building phase so that is to be expected. It will come in 16 weeks, I promise.

I just glanced over the Chuckanut start list and I have to say it's impressive! Looking forward to fast and beautiful race next Saturday. And I hear Bellingham has some good local brews.

Feb 28 - Mar 6

I'll start this post by saying this week sucked! Lucho knew I'd be confined to a treadmill all week so he kindly re-arranged my runs to break up the monotony. In addition, I was also confined to a training classroom all week up on the 14th floor with big floor to ceiling windows peering out to the San Francisco hills. Yes I was day dreaming, wondering what the elevation gain and grade was on a particular trail that shot straight up the ridge line. And then I was so rudely interrupted by the instructor "Scott what do you think about all this? You have been really quiet..." "Umm, well, (trying to remember the last thing I heard) Yes, I agree and I'd also like to circle back to..." Gibberish basically. I never did get out to that trail because the day started at 7:30 AM and didn't get back to the hotel until the sun had set. So be it. The week is in the books with the most myles in a week thus far for 2011. Here's what it looked like:

Monday - 8 myles San Fran. TM

Tuesday - AM 8 myles San Fran. TM

PM 6 myles San Fran. Bay trail

Wednesday - 10 myles San Fran. TM

Thursday - AM 8 myles San Fran. TM

PM 6 myles San Fran. Bay trail

Friday - 4 myles San Fran. TM

Saturday - 15 myles Daniels Park

Sunday - 22 myles Tour de HR trails

87 myles, 11 hours 22 minutes, climbing 5422 ft - 319 myles in February

The hyperlink workouts on the TM are really only there for HR purposes. No elevation gain but rather leg turnover stuff. For instance, on Tuesday the instructions were to keep HR above 150 for 30 minutes, which turned out to be 9 MPH with an avg. HR of 157. Then on Wednesday I did 10 x 30 seconds at 5:27 pace and was able to hold my HR at 165. So as you can see leg turnover stuff because Chuckanut has 20K of the flat stuff. Next week I'm sure I'll be working on the middle 30K of Chuckanut which is about 4K of climbing.

Feb 21 -27

Not much of a recovery week but that's the plan. I figure my body will continue to get stronger as I keep the time and mileage up even during and after race weeks. It's tricky though. Lucho checked on me a couple of times before he gave me my weekly training to make sure I had no extra niggles (Nick Clarkism) and away we went. So here is what the week looked like:

Monday - 4 myles Grigs + Dry Sauna

Tuesday - 6 myles Wichita TM

Wednesday - 8 myles Bluffs

Thursday - 12+ myles East/West

Friday - AM 5+ myles NCAR

PM 6+ myles Coal Creek Trail

Saturday - AM 5 myles Coal Creek Trail

AM #2 11 myles Boulder Res.

Sunday - 20+ myles HR tour de trails

Total - 79 myles, 11 hrs 30 mins, 6907 ft of climbing

I had minimal soreness from the race, just stiff on Monday. So what's the big difference? I think it's two fold; running everyday and the use of Optygen. But I'm able to run everyday because of the Optygen (recovery). To top it off not all my runs are not at breakneck speed. Remember the article "Want speed? Slow down!" I firmly believe in this strategy along side HR training. It's taken some time to get used to but after my Hagg Lake result - I believe!

2011 Pearl Izumi Ultrarunning team

This last weekend was also the Pearl Izumi Ultra Running team summit. What a great time with Ian, Josh, Timothy, Darcy, Nick, and Ashley. Kody and Aric did an amazing job to pull all the details together - thanks guys! Also got some great seminars by our sponsors: First Endurance, High Gear, and all the peeps over at Pearl Izumi. Learned a lot! Wait till you see the photos that Eric Wynn took on the team runs - best I've seen in a while. That's it for now. I am in lovely San Francisco for a weeks worth of training - Hellow Treadmill!

February 7 - 13

This week in training:

Monday - 4 myles East/West trail home

Tuesday - AM 8 myles TM Lifetime Fitness

PM 6 myles TM Lifetime Fitness

Wednesday - 15 myles TM Lifetime Fitness

Thursday - 8 myles TM Lifetime Fitness Omaha

Friday - AM 6 myles The Bluffs

PM 4 myles SouthRidge TM

Saturday - 25 myles The Bluffs + Daniels Park

Sunday - 3 myles McArthur Ranch

Total - 79 myles, 10 hrs 55 mins, 3431 ft of climbing

Not much of a taper a week before a race eh? It's true because the goal is not Hagg Lake but rather Western States so I can't be taking two weeks to taper and then one week to recover every time I race. With only 20 weeks left until Western I need every day to count. Strong words of advice from Lucho. I saw Nick Clark's approach to Western last year, basically training through every race no matter the distance with 100+ myles for 15 or so weeks. I need that base and I feel like I'm right on track. To tell you the truth I feel stronger now than I ever have before. 6 weeks into the build up towards Western and here is a snap shot of my weeks: 82, 79, 69, 85, 83, and 79 myles.

A couple of major difference to my fitness, I think, is 1) MAF HR approach. MAF stands for maximum aerobic function and rather than me botch the explanation, just read this article entitled "Want Speed? Slow Down!" and you will get an idea of the approach to my base building. It has been tough because all I wanna do is go but that will come and I know this, I've seen a small sampling in my training. I can hit 5:40s at the end of a two hour run with a 165 HR and not feel completely taxed. Another difference to my fitness is 2) my focus on nutrition during the run. Lucho has been giving me detailed workouts with specific nutrition and hydration instructions, for instance "take 1 gel 10 minutes before you start and hydrate with 20 oz of water...." something like that. You would think it's common knowledge to do these things and stay up on nutrition AND HYDRATION during training but it's easy to get complacent. And truth be told, you need to train like you race.

So what do I expect from Hagg Lake? Well based on previous times of runners I know, I would expect something in the low 3.40s. But apparently times can be significantly slower during lots of rain so we will see what the weather brings. Dan Olmstead, Neil Olsen, Scott Wolfe, and Rod Bien will all be there to push the pace so I am looking forward to something fast. Also I plan on wearing a HR monitor the whole time (but not pay attention to) just for collecting data and see if my fitness matches my HR. Last, my weight is down to 156 flat. That is ideal racing weight for me! Can't wait!

Oh, one more thing, Justin Mock wrote a great article on the Colorado trail over here. Which got me thinking about the trail again.... I'm gonna go for the FKT in 2012! I just have to give it a try now I know the trail and trail knows me.

Segment 24 before dropping down (seems like) forever to the Animas

January 31 - Feb 6

It's official. I did not apply to Hardrock this year. For the first time in 7 years there will be no suspense... but truth be told, this was the first year I had an automatic entry so either way there would not have been suspense. I remember a few years ago I started #34 on the wait list and got in the day before - lots of gray hairs after that one. Sure I could have taken a slot this year but that would have been completely selfish being two weeks after Western States, knowing my body, and the recover time needed. I've only got so many races left in me before I'm done and I want to experience Western States. With the record number of applicants who are in the same position I have been many times over, better to give someone else a chance this year. The Hardrock 100 is a special race and the San Juan's are a special place so why not grow the Hardrock family and let someone else experience the world's greatest high alpine running event. Good luck to all in the lottery today.

Training for me this week has been great! For the entire month of January I have been building a very solid base with most of my runs just under 8 pace with an avg. HR of 145. Sure I've been anxious to get some leg turn over and finally got a taste to end the week. Lucho is ratcheting down the bolts! The run today was after two days of trudging through snow and lots-o-elevation gain so (needless to say) tired legs. But today just really confirmed what I have been building towards - being able to run between 6:15s and 6:30s during the second half of a longer run. Add in the core workouts almost every day and I feel fit not only strength wise but aerobically as well. Here is how the this week looked:

Monday - 4 myles Tulsa TM

Tuesday - 8 myles Southridge TM

Wednesday - 14 myles Daniels Park

Thursday - 8 myles Kansas City TM (missed 2nd run today)

Friday - 9 myles Green Mountain

Saturday - 21 myles Roxborough

Sunday - 19 myles Southridge TM

Total - 83 myles, 12hrs 19 mins, 9134 ft of climbing

I miss you everyday Cooper

January 24 - 30

Coming to you live from the lovely Tulsa airport! I fully intended to put the fingers to the keyboard last night but the back of my eyelids got the best of me. Travel has been coming from every direction, which means my runs have been as well; Aspen, Los Begas, Denver, and now Tulsa. Now because of "the storm" I'm stuck here in Tulsa and remains to be seen if I can make it back to Denver.

Last week was very tough not only in terms of being in meetings all day but also from the sickness aspect. I went to the doctor on Tuesday and she determined I had a virus because I was not producing any phlegm... I know from selling antibiotics that the rust colored junk coming out was more bacterial, ie Steptococcus Pneumoniae. I ran every day trying to get the stuff out of my system but little by little it made it's way into my lungs. So from Sunday through Wednesday the runs were absolutely miserable. Thursday running in the desert with Josh Brimhall was the first time I actually felt decent, still coughing up a lung, but decent. By the weekend I managed to string together back to back 20 mile runs. So now I feel back on track and ready to see what I've got for Hagg Lake 50K. Here is the week in review:

Monday - 6 myles Venetian TM

Tuesday - 6 myles Venetian TM

Wednesday - 8 myles Venetian TM

Thursday - 20 myles Bootleg Canyon

Friday - 4 myles East/West trail

Saturday - 20 myles Chatfield Resevoir x2

Sunday - 20 myles Tour De HR

Total - 85 myles, 11.54 hrs, 4947 ft climbing. 344 myles for January.

January 17 - 23

As I write this I feel like total crap! Saturday night was miserable with chills and night sweats followed by coughing and sore throat the next day. Having said that, sorry for being brief here but I just don't have the energy to put any thought into this post other than noting my workouts. I fully intended on writing a little write up on MAF-HR but will put more thought into later this week.

Obviously feeling this way my week ended with a big thud. For the past 3 weeks most of my workouts have been very mellow, keeping the HR below 155. Now what I'm finding is that it's a lot harder to get my HR above 160, whereas before 160 was easy running, at least from my perspective. I'm building the foundation here which will help me immensely come June time.

Here is what my week looked like:

Monday - 8.25 myles, 1.10:02

Tuesday - 10 myles, 1.17:38

Wednesday - 12.25 myles, 1.39:51

Thursday - 17.9 myles, 2.25:52

Friday - 8.2 myles, 1.05:48

Saturday - 8.2 myles, 1.24:12

Sunday - 4 myles, 34:03

Total - 69 myles, 9.37, 9407 ft of climbing

January 10-16, 2010

Another Newsflash: I am in UTMB!!! Along with my PI teammates: Nick, Darcy, and Josh. Other U.S. notables on the list: Dakota Jones, Nick Pedatella, Scott Jurek, Hal Koerner, Diana Finkel, Mike Foote, Joe Grant, Tony Krupicka, Glenn Mackie, Karl Meltzer, Krissy Moehl, Geoff Roes, and Roch Horton

Newsflash: UROY and POY have been announced over here. Congratulations to everyone! In particular, my PI teammates Nick Clark and Darcy Africa, 4th and 6th respectively. Well deserved!

Second full week of resetting the metabolism. I'm really happy the way my body has responded to running every day of the week, and in a few cases, twice a day. I may have said this before but it seems the more I run, the more I want to run.

The highlight of the week was certainly The Ponderous Posterior 50K (aka Fat Ass) put on by the CRUD guys. I don't need to go into further detail just read the previous post. Outside of that the week was a busy one traveling to Kansas for a short trip and trying to fit in two-a-days. In Kansas it was below zero so the treadmill was the only option. Most of the runs were easy runs, keeping my HR below 155. I did have one workout of 4 x 20 second hill sprints and my HR spiked to 163 each time, felt really refreshing.

Sure I'm anxious to get some leg turnover but the goal is to peak towards the end of June not the end of April. Last year I was hot with the training starting in November the previous year and I made the mistake of trying to carry the volume and intensity throughout the year. If you look at my race results from last year, I had my best results through May and then the wheels fell off. Then after a miserable stretch through September, a little break, and then one final race in November to cap the year off where I started - running good. I didn't realize what has happening at the time but in hindsight instead of pushing through (harder and faster workouts), I should have backed off and "reset". I think it's a common mistake we all make. As a result, I AM being patient right now and will take the next 24 weeks to peak.

At any rate here is what my week looked like:

Monday - 4 myles, 32 minutes

Tuesday - AM 8 myles, 62 minutes. PM 4 myles, 32 minutes

Wednesday - 11 myles, 1 hour 28 minutes

Thursday - AM 4 myles, 31 minutes. PM 6 myles, 54 minutes

Friday - 6 myles, 48 minutes

Saturday - 32 myles, 5 hours 19 minutes

Sunday - 4 myles, 33 minutes

Total - 79.2 myles, 11 hours 41 minutes, 10,626 ft of climbing

You'll always be with us Fast Eddy Cooper