2012 R2R2R Group – Training Log’s

just got a $20 off Moosejaw coupon and purchased a pair of Microspikes :)

I'm thinking, depending on conditions obviously, that they might be handy to have in the pack for the run in April?

Great Mike.

I'm hoping that Spikes won't be necessary in mid April, but you never know. You'll get some good use out of them either way.

We've received more moisture than usual for this time of year in southern NM, but projected long term climate predictions for our region (AZ,TX,NM) are forecasting above average temps and below normal precipitation.

I'll be packin' my steel if there's word of ice out there.

Based on where you live and what you do Mike, I'm surprised you haven't tried them sooner. I think you'll be impressed. Nice and grippy, flexible enough to run easily, but won't trip you or bleed you like a crampon can.

I would guess there's a slim chance of needing microspikes for the R2R2R on April 14.

re microspikes- hope we don't need them, but nice to have them just in case :) I'll no doubt get use out of them here

my week of 12/12 was very good, a couple of firsts for me- first run of 10 miles (previous long was 8) and first week to break 20 miles (got 20 even last week)

the weather for this time of year has been stellar (Sat and Sun both in the 40's!), I've done a little exploring and have added some more "trail" to my existing loops- much of it is off trail, just kind of fun running new places and making new loops

pretty much injury free this week, so that's good

anywho still got a long way to go, but am slowly and steadily chipping at it

question on training, I'm going into my 5th "official" week of training- is there a point I should consider cycling down for a week? I'm definitely a little on the sore side, no injuries, but sore

also Thom I see you have 12/12 and 12/19 marked down as injury- what happened?

Mike

A cycle down week is not a bad idea, especially given the fact that you're doing a lot of "firsts" in your training. Training wears you down; ideally, your rest is when you heal and get stronger. But that won't happen if there is no rest. All your gains will be for not if you get hurt or burn out. While a cycle down week may feel counterproductive because you're itching to get the miles in, a mellow week every 3 or four is great insurance against getting taken out of the game for much longer.

I'm coming off six consecutive days and 41.5 miles, not to mention breaking concrete foundation for about 4 hours today. Seriously looking forward to getting some sleep and doing NOTHING physical tomorrow, not even my morning pushups.

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Craig
heavy construction work is great cross training, great choice !

thanks gents! I think I'll cycle down this week, backing it off ~ 20%, then bump it up the following week ( God willing :) )

Art- no worries about me going slow, no hare here, all turtle :)

Mike

How's the running folks? I've been pretty screwed…read my log.

I'm very screwed as I've developed a left leg shin splint type injury. Two plus weeks off and the leg felt well healed, one flat five mile run and the pain was back with a vengeance.

The R2R2R is a personal priority and I will likely reschedule for a fall attempt as I see no way to accommodate the current date for the Group run. I have vented my frustration to Eugene and others which helps but does little to lessen the frustration and disappointment.

Sorry to hear you guys aren't doing too well.

OK-

I'VE BEEN LURKING ON THIS THREAD AND I AM VERY EXCITED.

No way for me to know if I can make it that weekend until much closer , BUT- I am training for it and stepped it up to 4-0-6-7-6-0-7 runs last week that included some 1,200ft elevation gain hills.

My local 26.2 is the week after that date and has Total Elevation Gain/Loss=7,234 ft. SO- I should be ready if it works out. We'll see.

Maybe a 20% chance for me right now.

Sorry to hear of the injuries – they're a real bummer, but come with the territory I guess… As per my log, I am coming off a hilly road/trail marathon (+2mi) race about 2-weeks ago and am feeling pretty well recovered. After the race I wasn't dealing with many aches (minor calf strain ~2d active recovery cleared it up), but I was feeling seriously depleted (calories deficit). I nearly bonked on a short trail run that I usually breeze through — luckily I had a gel in my handheld. This is a greater surprise when I consider all the hand made chocolates and homemade cookies and cakes I've been snacking on… I am thinking this is in someway related to racing and the general hustle and bustle of the holidays – but who knows. I logged in the 40some mile range (about average when I am not in-training) this past week and feel strong again. Most importantly of late I've been enjoying my daily runs mostly (re)exploring the extensive forest single track around my hometown, which is a big change from the rocky terrain of southern New Mexico. Hope everyone can find some rest and heal up pronto.

add me to the down list :( I think I have pinched (impinged) nerve somewhere in my neck area- not really sure. The pain moves around, at night I have to be very careful not to sleep on my left side (side that has been hurting) as my shoulder will scream out in pain in short order. During the day the pain will often move from shoulder to my upper arm, occasionally down as far as my upper forearm.

I went on a three mile hike today w/ the wife, my left tricep felt knotted the entire time (and even now as I type). They've given me muscle relaxants (two different kinds now) which don't seem to help very much. Also some potent form of Ibuprofen, which doesn't seem to be helping much either. I originally passed on pain pills (that was an error!), I got some now, but only taking them at night.

how I got my injury is big question mark, could very well be unrelated to running.

I'm not throwing in the towel yet, I'm going to give a run a try tomorrow and hope this thing (whatever it is) moves on

I empathize with you Mike and Thom, injury setbacks in a training cycle are frustrating, keep your spirits up and hopefully your bodies follow suit! You both should know that I selfishly want to share a few fist pumps with the both of you, so I'm still keeping my bony fingers crossed that I'll meet both of you in April.

@ Ron,

It would be great to meet you and share some miles, keep us posted as we draw closer.

14 weeks folks!

Just came in from an easy 5K and I think I've finally got this illness kicked. Seriously looking forward to my first running week of 2012. Hope everyone gets well soon.

Ron, it would be great to have you out with us, hope your training goes well.

Reail bummer to hear some of the training challenges of the group. Hopefully things will pick up with the new year.

My recent training has been very mixed. It will be hard to pick up from my training log but I had my toughest workout to data about a week ago. It was 6 miles of steps that left me feeling pretty whooped for the next week. My legs felt deleted in a similiar fashion as after my first marathon. What did I learn? Don't over do it! The last four days I have had some decent runs in the 10-15 mile range but I have had a mental weakness in trying to push myself beyond the 15-20 mile range. It may be my body telling my mind to take it easy, that sounds so much better than mental weakness. Have a few minor pains in my ankles but I'm still in one piece.

Greg,

Awesome, you're rollin'!

bummer for those that won't be able to make it. I'm still battling that decision myself, but was still hoping to meet some of you.

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Agreed Art.

I'm beginning to shift my the expectations and goals in my weekly runs, which has been difficult mentally as I'm one to judge progress and fitness by my weekly mileage and tend to feel like I'm slacking if I'm under 40 miles a week or so.

On Monday I went out and did a short run of about 5 miles with ~1,200' of climbing and equal descent and was out for almost 1 hour.

Yesterday I ran for an hour during my lunch break and got in another ~1,000-~1,200' of climbing.

Today I'm pulling a double and my goal is to get in about 2k+ in combined vertical and run for about 2hrs. One thing that helps me to not be crazy strict on the miles is the absence of a GPS watch and not running road. I know the rough distance of all my trail routes and the total elevation gain/loss so it's easy for me to just check my watch at the trailhead and not judge my mileage, pace, etc. while I'm out running and punch back in when I get back to the trailhead.

The biggest challenge for me Art is the absence of any long, slow climbing for any extended period of time. The nearest long climb in excess of 1500' is a 25min drive away and I don't make that drive regularly cause it's horrendous on my Land Cruiser's gas tank. What I've been doing is running repeats on a closer route that has a total elevation gain of about 800', but this route is steeper than what we'll be running at the Grand Canyon.

What are your thoughts Art on the benefit of doing short/intense climbing during training, run in a repeat fashion? This will be a large proportion of my climbing training over the next 3 months.

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629,800 feet
that's the amount of elevation gain Anton Krupicka did in his workouts for all of 2011.

and he was injured and on crutches much of the year.

Wow! Krupicka is just plain nuts and obsessive! That is a tremendous amount of vertical, blows my mind how disciplined and consistent he is on his Green Mtn muse. What is more commendable to me is how on the other end of the spectrum are well rounded older runners like Dave Mackey who can hold down post graduate medical studies, work, run half the weekly volume, move around the country, full time daddy duty, rock climb some…..and still hand it to the elite ultra guys who are the ultrarunning equivalent of "surf bum" bachelors really (Roes, Krupicka, Jones) .

Do you think Krupicka will have a good showing at Hardrock in 6 months? I bet he'll still do really well despite this chronic shin injury he keeps exacerbating. Btw, Eric Payne (*who may join us in April) got a spot in Hardrock this summer, he's all jazzed.

Thanks for the response Art on the hill repeats, i'll be sticking with that over the next few months and doing my best to avoid burnout.