Inspired

Amidst my own 21 mile run today I watched the Bandera 100K trail National Championship via irunfar.com. Great coverage once again Bryon!

Pearl Izumi Ultra running team was in full force today to include veterans Nick Clark and Darcy Africa, rising -check that- bonfide star Timothy Olson, and new addition Dylan Bowman. I woke up this morning and had that excitement as if I were racing today. Just what I needed to motivate me for my own 3 hour run. Great results today - Timothy Olson 100K trail National Champ (8.28:38), Dylan Bowman 4th place (8.40:05), Nick Clark 5th place (8.57:30). Darcy had to call it quits at the 50K mark because of hamstring issues - get better quick Darcy! Speaking of Darcy, here's a recent article in Outside online. Check out the photo below - even Joe Uhan (8.38:53) is sportin PI. And don't let Mackey (8.38:28) fool you, he is a secret Pearl lover too!

Timothy Olson, Dave Mackey, Joe Uhan, Dylan Bowman, Nick Clark Photo Bryon Powell

Lately with all the travel I've had the best intentions of running on the road but when it comes right down to it, I am so tired once I get to the hotel if I do run I am totally not into it. Result is poor quality of runs. The positive spin is now I'm visiting the same places more frequently so now I know where most of the trails are located. For instance, the Leona Divide and Angeles Crest are run near Arcadia and Sierre Madre and I have been staying near there for my past couple of visits to California. Now I will make it a point to find a Marriott (gotta get points) in those cities even if I have to travel to Santa Barbara for the day.

Today's race at Bandera has inspired me to train hard no matter how tired I am. Thanks guys!

Last thing, here is my race schedule for 2012. Still a lot of unconfirmed but this is what I'm looking at for 2012:

• Calico 50K - January 22nd (only because I'll be in Bakersfield)
• Chuckanut 50K - March 17th
• Leona Divide 50 mile - April 28th
• Quad Rock 50 mile - May 12th
• Squaw Peak 50 mile - June 2nd
• Hard Rock 100 mile - July 13th
• Colorado Trail FKT ?? - August
• Run Rabbit Run 100 mile ?? - September 14-15th

Here's to a successful 2012 with family, work, running, and friends!

15 myles - 2.21

Jackson Hole ski resort - noon

70s, clear, dry

mind/body - loving the trails

hard effort

Yesterday was the bunny hill at Snow King so today I decided to go for the black diamond run at Jackson Hole ski resort. I took the Summit trail all the way to the top, 7.3 myles and 4200 ft of elevation gain - 1.24 to the top and 50 something down. Even though this run isn't gonna do me a bit of good in Galway, how can I run a track or flat in Jackson Hole, Wyoming? So I savored every moment knowing it would be last for a while.

Summit Trail in yellow - 10

As I sit here in the JH airport I have a lot of mixed emotions about going to Ireland. No doubt I wanna go for the shear experience of it. I mean, c'mon, this doesn't happen to me and probably never will again. But at the same time I'm really nervous about my "road" fitness. I guess no sense in worrying about it, right? Just get out there and train my ass off for the next 4 weeks - period. A lot of details still to work out.

~6 myles - 58:27

Snow King ski hill - 7:00 PM
60s, raining, actually pleasant
mind/body - solid
easy effort

In Jackson, WY for work (wink,wink)... coming to Jackson Hole actually makes having to cover the whole state Wyoming - OK. I swear the mountain was calling my name so I got out late and climbed about 2500 ft to the top of the ski hill in town. Lots of people in town and lots of people hiking and running the trail, good to see.

In other news, I got an email today from the IAU inviting me to the IAU 50Km World Trophy final in Galway, Ireland on August 29th. Check it out Apparently my performance at Caumsett back in March earned me a paid invitation, among 39 others from around the world. I had to let them know right away so I instinctively said YES. Now that throws a curve in my current race schedule because obviously I am no longer "road" fit. So I've got basically 4 weeks to try and get fast again, which means I will probably miss the Where's Waldo 100K the week before. I can't pass the opportunity up, right? Even though my heart is with the trails and mountains right now, I've gotta ride this train all the way to the station. Thoughts? Others that I saw on the list from the U.S. were Michael Wardian, Justin Fyffe, Dan Verrington, and Ben Nephew.

8 myles - 58:17

HR urban trails - 9:00 AM
80s, overcast, dry
mind/body - sluggish to start
easy effort

Progress. Each day is a little better than the last. Today started sluggish but by the end I was clipping along at a pretty good pace, in fact, last mile was 6:30. Next race isn't until the end of August (Where's Waldo) but yesterday was a big day for races, in which I was inspired to get back at it. AJdub won Vermont in a decent time, Matt Hart is ahead of record pace on the CT, and my brother in law, Wade, participated in his first trail race - all good stuff.

10K -46:12

Finally laced them up again today and felt decent doing it. Lots of memories still floating around in my head. I've watched the video below a hundred times that Jaxon took at Cunningham. I can smell the finish (or is that my socks??)but dog tired. Thanks again my crew!

Western States pacing duties

It's been a while since I've posted anything so I'm playing a little catch up here. I'm leaving to Silverton tomorrow morning to get ready for Hard Rock and with limited internet connection I will do my best to update my runs leading up to the race.

Thursday I flew out to Reno and met up with Justin Mock who was there to pace teammate Nick Clark. Justin was kind enough to offer up a ride to the PI house at Squaw. Josh was staying in Reno that night with his wife to clear his mind. And rather than write something that has already been written, check out JM's report. I'll pick it up at Michigan Bluffs where our stories start to differ:


PI boys pre-race

Earlier in the day Josh was running strong but because of all the standing water on the trail and wet feet, Josh developed major blisters that covered the bottoms of his feet. He did the best to fix them on the trail but by the time he got to Michigan Bluff it was almost too late. A 20 minute stop to fix the feet at the aid station by John Vonhof who authored the book Fixing your feet. He told Josh to keep his feet dry and continually change socks but regardless the journey was gonna be arduous. Josh attempted to leave the aid station but came walking back clearly not wanted to endure 45 myles of walking. Hillary (Josh's wife) and I encouraged him to at least continue to Foresthill and let the foot form to the new shoes and socks.


Josh coming into Dusty's corner mile 38

Sitting at Foresthill waiting for Josh was agonizing for both of us because we knew he was hurting. We knew that we needed to change the mindset from winning or placing in the top 10 to "just" getting to the finish. I say "just" very lightly because anyone who crosses that finish line is a true champion - the journey is not easy for anyone. For Josh (who has clocked a 16.54 and 19.59 at San Diego and Grand Teton 100s respectively) I'm sure it was hard to get his mind around anything less than competing for the win - nothing wrong with that at all. But to change the mind set mid-swing when you are clearly not at your best on such a big day must be extremely tough.

At Foresthill, Hillary took care of Josh (as she had been all day) and sent us on our way. I could sense immediately that Josh was determined to get to that finish line. He was running strong, picking people off (8 to be exact) in a span of 2 hours and 45 minutes. But right before we got to Rucky Chucky I could tell the energy left his legs. We pulled into Rucky Chucky for a much needed break for Josh. He sat while eating and drinking and then off towards Green Gate. Hillary made her way down the road to meet us with some lights for the night journey.

I was thoroughly impressed with Josh's perseverance to continue. I knew he wasn't feeling well but he still made a concerted effort to run intermixed by strong hiking. In and out of the canyons lit up by a full moon, Josh continued to plug along and was suprisingly still in good spirits. We pulled into Brown's Bar aid station (that place is just weird), some broth and rice for Josh, quick stop, and we were out. Next up was a nice little climb up to Hwy 49 aid station, only 4 myles - Josh alternated 30 seconds of running with 30 seconds of power hiking and when he was running - he was running good.

Now he could smell the finish so it was just a matter of keep moving forward. Leaving the Hwy 49 aid, he wasn't feel well at all so we took our time to get his stomach right. The moon still lit the sky and the air was very,very still so it was hotter than expected. All the way down to No hands bridge Josh couldn't settle his stomach, a little Coke at the aid and across the bridge. As we got to the far side of the bridge, it happened for the first time for Josh. Yep, everything came out. I examined the carnage to make sure the lining of his stomach didn't come out. I explained to Josh that the next 15 minutes were critical for moving fast.... AKA Vomitus Euphoritus. Don't know how it happens but it seems when you empty the contents of your stomach, you feel this sudden rush of feeling good. So the timing of Vomitus Euphoritus was perfect. Up and over Robie Point and down into the stadium - 21.34, 53rd place. A very well deserved finish for Josh!


Josh getting his buckle


Men Top 10

Now as far as my running is concerned, I feel good going into Hard Rock. I did 6 myles on Friday in Squaw (a couple up the first climb of the race and 4 later with the PI gang), 38 myles with Josh, and then 12 today in Utah. I'm looking forward to my time in Silverton, it's Christmas to me!

11 myles - 1.27:06

Mt Falcon v0.75 - 3:00 P.M.
80s, dry, partly cloudy
mind/body - solid
hard effort

A little time trial up to the shelter via Turkey trot. So yeah it was tough! Last time 27:06; This time 27:40. 3 myles, 1800 ft of elevation gain, 12% avg. grade. I remember last time (a full year ago) as if it were yesterday; I was gasping for air, lungs searing, legs burning, and I shuffled around the rest of the run trying to recover. This time was still a hard effort but I tried to keep it under the hood without spilling any lactate. I think I succeeded because my overall time this go round was 5 minutes faster - 1.27:06 vs 1.33:21. So the key takeaway here is know your limit, stay under it, and recover quicker. I was only 34 seconds faster last year but that was all lost this time in the first 1.7 myles (16:01 vs 16:28). Just like Green, there is a strategy, if you try to blow it out in the beginning you will pay for it before you get to the top.

6.2 myles - 43:48

Lone Tree Loop - 7:00 A.M.

60s, partly cloudy, dry

mind/body - ready to go!

easy effort

Got home late last night from KC. Supposed to be in by 5 PM but the storms delayed everyone. In fact, a storm was blowing in while we landed as the pilot struggled to keep the plane shiny side up - we landed on one wheel, bounced up, and then properly landed. Then they closed the airport because of lightning and clouds with rotation so we waited on the tarmac for another 1/2 hour - pretty nasty. But made it nonetheless.

Yesterday I made it out in the morning, 4 myles-32 minutes with 10 x 20 second hill sprints. Felt kind of sluggish but probably due to the humidity, not used to it. Today, however, I felt great! No aches or pains, including the calf. Gonna travel out to Wyoming today, stop at a couple of my accounts and then make our way to Idaho tomorrow. Should be a great race with the cast of great runners showing up. I looked at the entrant list this morning and this is who is on my radar: Karl M, Erich P, Luke N, Joe G, Ty D, Ajaydub, Matt H, Sean M. Speed wise - I'm not the fastest guy in this group. Climbing wise - I like my chances. Did I miss anyone? There's always a dark horse, who is it?

7 myles - 1.10:14

Green Mountain - noon thirty

60s, windy, dry

mind/body - strong

Hard effort

My second time up Green (amp/saddle/greenman) in my own individual time trial. And NO this was not an organized race (just in case any spy is reading). phfffttt... I was a little nervous to even try this today because I knew I wanted to post a good time and see how I compared to the heads of state (realizing their unofficial TT was in a sloppy mess to slow things up).

This time I knew where to start my watch so I made a 5 minute jog over to the Gregory TH from Chautauqua, started the watch and began the uphill slog. I've seen other reports of people taking splits but I have no idea where those are so I only have a time to the top - 32:57. And that hurt! Maybe with a little more practice I could shave off 20 or 30 seconds but that's about it. I was pretty cooked once I touched the pole - you know the lungs searing, feeling like you have blood in your mouth - kind of cooked. The trail was completely snow free, nearly all dry, and very few people to dodge. All I could think about on my way up is Tony going up this 4 times in a row!

18 myles - 2.32:44

Deer Creek - 7:00 AM
60s, windy, clear, dry
mind/body - clear/strong
easy effort

Met up with Geoff and Wyatt this morning at Deer Creek. Wyatt has just moved to town from Ohio looking to get on some runs with people while learning all the new trails. I think it's safe to say he was blown away by the pristine single track of Deer Creek. Geoff is gearing up for his first ultra (Dirty thirty) in a couple weeks. Good running guys!

I felt great this morning but the calf was starting to talk to me on the hills... which is just a good reminder to take care of it with ice, compression, and glutamine for the rest of the week. Oh and a little rest will do it some good. So I end the week with 61 myles, 8000 ft of climbing (4500 today), and just under 9 hours on the feet. Pretty big taper week for me but I feel really good going into Pocatello.

#7 on the HR wait list. List is starting to move...

It's windy outside today so Myles said he needed his swim goggles...

9.25 myles - 1.07:21

Sand Creek - Noon thirty
60s, cloudy, dry
mind/body - eh. good.
easy effort

Met up with Geoff today to run his normal lunch time route. He works on a big magnet machine at the U of CO and I happened to be working at the U today. Bfish skipped out on us... something about having run already in the morning. Bfish we needed you and your geeky watch!

Somewhat of an up-tempo run. We talked the whole run but managed a 7:15 pace and felt really good. My legs didn't know what to do on this flat stuff, almost an outer body experience. Nice little dirt path that meanders the neighborhood. Calf felt good on the flat stuff and body seems to be recovered.

11 myles - 1.18:43

Coyote Ridge - 7 AM
50s, clear, dry
mind/body - surprisingly good
easy effort

I spent the afternoon on Saturday and most of yesterday taking care of the calf, fearing the worst. When I got home on Saturday I immediately applied RICE and took 2 grams of glutamine. Woke up Sunday morning went down to Wash park with the boys and did a 5K walk for the Arthritis Foundation. The calf was sore but not any worse than before. The rest of the day I massaged, glutamine, and RICE again.

This morning I woke up and felt great, still a little sore in the calf but a little less than yesterday. So I laced em up and went out at a pedestrian pace to see if I could feel anything... Sore - yes. Manageable - yes. The further I got into my run the better I felt. I figure if I stay on top of this one I will be fine as I enter a taper period. Normally I'm a 5 run/week guy but these last couple of weeks has been 6 and 7 (and even some doubles) so I'm feeling out my range here. I'm no spring chicken anymore...

9 myles - 1.03:57

Lone Tree loop - noon
40s, wet/muddy, overcast
mind/body - good
easy effort

I put the calf sleeves back on today but not because of an injury, rather to prevent one. I feel fast with calf sleeves on, anyone else feel that way? Only 7:07s today but primarily due to the mud caking up on my feet making 10 lb weights. 8 runs in the last 7 days gives me 90 for that time span (previous 7 days was 95). So I'm hovering around 100 and remarkably still feel fresh everyday. Hopefully with my big run on Saturday I can get to triple digits... if not it's no big deal. The bigger deal is time on my feet with lots of vertical.

On another note, I'm looking for a new watch. One that will be the most accurate for distance and elevation gain. Friends go ahead and get geeky on me to offer up some suggestions or opinions. I know Christian will have some input since he plays with this stuff all day (or at least used to). Price is no object cause I'm a multi-millionaire and my wife loves for me to spend money on this kind of stuff... HA and HA!

Updated the link on the Pearl Izumi logo to go to the new Facebook page. Check it out. It lists all the athletes on the run and new tri team with a little bio.

10 myles - 1.09:30

HR urban trails - 8:00 A.M.
60s, clear, dry
mind/body - solid
easy effort

Today was probably the best run of the whole week! I only intended to go for a real easy run to shake the legs out but when I got to the turn around my legs wanted to go... came back in 32:20 (6:28s). Nothing spectacular, by any means, but a huge confidence booster to know that my body is starting to respond to the bump in mileage.

Normally I'm not big on numbers but I need to track my bump in mileage to be incremental rather than all at once to avoid injury. So my numbers for the week: 85 myles, 11 hours, 16,300 climbing. Next week needs to be the week for 100 but traveling to Wyoming later today for work will put a damper in that.

Happy Mother's day to all you mom's out there! All the mom's I know are the glue that keeps everything together in the family. We (Dad's) couldn't function without you!

20.4 myles - 3.03:13

Deer Creek - 7 AM
50s, clear blue skies, dry
mind/body - good/eh.
easy effort

Met up with Geoff again this morning. This being his first trip to Deer Creek so I was more than happy to show him around the beauty of this course. It couldn't have been more perfect this morning! We did pretty much everything up at Deer Creek to include; Bear, Red Cloud (twice), and Golden Eagle. It's hard to gauge the total elevation gain but I would suspect somewhere in the low 5000 range. We kept the pace very honest all while striking up good conversation all the way from Haggis (it might be good but I can't get over what it's made of) to immigration (me being Mexican and he Canadian).

So far this week I've put in 75 myles with 15,800 elevation gain and feel decent. Having said that, I now realize in order to hit 100 I have to run every day and maybe even a two-a-day once or twice. Next week will be interesting as I venture out to Mt Sanitas on Saturday for 12 hours of laps - yikes! Good solid HR training... that's if I get in! The wait list hasn't budged in over a month. Someone has got to be getting scared by now?!?

15 myles - 2.03:26

Mt. Falcon v1.0 - 8:00 A.M.
30s, clear, skiff of snow
mind/body - good/sluggish
easy effort

I had visions of doing a double at Falcon today but I started too late and the legs were in Molasses so one time around was enough for me. I took a day off yesterday after 7 straight days so I was hoping to be refreshed today... eh. It turned out OK. About the 45 minute mark I started to hit my stride and then finished feeling strong. Nothing spectacular on the splits below, just confirming I got stronger as the day went on:

End Turkey Trot: 18:23
Shelter: 30:36
Start Parmalee: 51:46 (after two dog and walker's)
End Parmalee: 1.10:57
End old Ute: 1.35:48
Start Turkey Trot: 1.50:17
End: 2.03:26

A couple of runs

Normally I like to keep up to date on a daily basis of my runs but wasn't able to yesterday, day just got away from me. Ended up selling my Mtn bike yesterday for some extra cash. So here's an update for those keeping tabs on me:

Tuesday: Mt. Falcon v0.75 - 10 myles - 1.32:34 - 2500 ft of climbing
Wednesday: Daniels Park/HR loop - 18 myles - 2.11:02 - 1000 ft of climbing

Leading into yesterday I had a nice streak of 6 days of good running (good in terms of overall body feel and feeling like a had another gear to go to). But as I sat in my car in the parking lot of Mt Falcon yesterday, I just didn't want to run. And the longer I sat there, the less I wanted to go. Finally I talked myself into it by agreeing (as if I'm talking to my alter ego) to turnaround if things didn't shake out.... Well things never improved. I got to the shelter in 30:28 and was dead. So again I agreed to go to the upper parking lot and turn around... At this point I'm playing mind games and decide that I'm already here so I might as well go around Parmalee. All in all it was a miserable day and I was happy to be done.

Moving into today I felt the same way and went through the same thought process... although it turned out much better. You just never know. I went out early without eating to help with my glycogen stores and see how I felt after two hours. I was really surprised, as the run got longer I got stronger.

So in 7 days, I've run 9 times for a total of 95 myles and 16,600 ft of elevation gain. Nice little bump from my normal 65 myles - but I am tired.

16 myles - 2.15:15

7/2:30 - Lone Tree/Green in Boulder
60s, partly cloudy, dry
mind/body - good
easy effort

Two runs today, not planned, but I couldn't help it being up in Boulder for work. I ran my home course (9 myles) this morning at 7 AM with a 6:57 pace, then again at 2 PM up Green Mountain in Boulder. I've been reading about this guy incessantly going up Green Mtn. over the past 4 months so I had to check it out for myself (tried before with Josh and Nick but too much bullet proof ice). I didn't know his exact route so I made my own; Chautauqua TH, Amphitheatre, Saddle Rock, Greenman - 38:27 to the top. Got home and checked out his blog to find out what route he has been for the past 132 times; Gregory Canyon, Ranger, Greenman - something like that. I came down Ranger/Gregory and liked it much better. I'm guessing about 2800 feet of climbing and route trip of about 7 myles.

11 myles - 1.14:57

Coyote Ridge - 8:00 A.M.
40s, partly cloudy, dry
mind/body - good
easy effort

Fourth day in a row where I've felt good. Today was about a minute slower than earlier in the week but mixed it up a bit. This was more of a progressive run where I continually get faster; first 2.5 myles in 18:15 (avg. 7:18); last 2.5 myles in 16:22 (avg. 6:32); last mile in 6:20. Since speed work has been a foregone conclusion lately I realize I need to get back to the quality stuff leading up to Pokey.

As it turns out, this week was really a normal week as opposed to the usual recovery week. I logged 62 myles in 6 runs and hopefully will get up to 100 in two weeks time. Next week I will incorporate both leg turnover and climbing

15 myles - 2.08:17

Mt. Falcon v1.0 - 6:30 A.M.
30s, clear, mostly dry
mind/body - good
easy effort

Can I really say "easy" anytime at Falcon? Not really. But the point is that we (Brian Fisher, Geoff Armstrong , and myself) really enjoyed being out there this morning without redlining it. Good conversation all the way round. Thanks for the run guys! My legs felt really good climbing despite only 7 days out from Zane Grey. What that tells me is that I'm getting fit. Normally a week after a race I will struggle to get in 30 myles but this week I've already put in 51. Things are starting to shape up nicely! Wonder what's going on with all races right now?? Can't wait to see the results!