2012 R2R2R Group – Training Log’s

Okay so I picked up some GU gels, honey stinger waffles and gels, nuun tablets. From what I'm reading in this thread it looks like I missed either endurolytes or s-tabs. Especially since cramps have been an issue lately. I'm always coated in salt when I get home, my hat too. All my weekend runs are over 3 hrs now so I have plenty of opportunities to work this out. Today I experimented with potato burritos and they worked fine, may try wheat tortillas instead though to make them less chewy. So far my plan is PBJ and potato burritos with gels, chips, s-tabs to top it off. No weiners , sorry Craig. Anything else I need? A fresh jalapeño maybe? Jalapeño makes anything taste better!!

You said it Greg; the basic problem is that I'm losing purpose on many of my mid-week runs.
I've fought this issue before, it's a tough one, easy to just get sort of sucked into mileage for mileage's sake (though I do typically enjoy ALL of my runs).

I know what my long runs are for: to run long, to build the ability to work for a long time. From previous marathons and 50Ks and other stuff, I get this.

But the shorter, mid-week runs? It's easy for them to simply be another run, leaving me not sure what they're actually helping, specifically.

And you said it: if it's not a tempo run, not a hill workout, not something specific, what is it then? Running for running's sake is fine, but running to run doesn't necessarily lead to big gains in hill running, speed, etc.

So I guess I'm really at a crossroads: get more serious with the type of some of the workouts I'm doing, or accept a certain level of "plateau", or slower progress, in my abilities. If many of the runs are just to run, that's fine for kicks, but I question if I'm not better off skipping them and focusing more on the long day (and coming into it more fresh).

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Yeah, good look with those jalepenos Adan. Hell, throw in some chorizo and hot links while your at it. I'm not running behind you…and make sure to add some TP to your pack.

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nice pics, looks like a great place to run :)

craig, that hydration pack is so NOT punk rock.

what happened?!

Loving these photographs from the runs fellas, thanks for the continued stoke.

So can we expect to see your snaggled toothed four legged companion Craig? I want to see his training log. Probably my favorite photo from this run is of Adan and mighty dog- Craig's dog is looking at Adan's size 14 feet saying to himself, "Damnnnnnn! Those are some big as$ feet boy!"

9 weeks and counting!

That there is Adan's dog, Max. Max is a bad little man, navigates ice and snow like a trooper.

My pup stayed home that day, should've brought her. But I will be making some commemorative R2R2R dog food bowls for both of them; mine is training at about 60% of my weekly mileage right now.

Max is short for Maximum. He chose the name himself. He likes to chase squirrels. He doesnt know this, but I can see him slowing down so that he doesnt actually catch the squirrel.

Craig I think, had an especially good time on this run because of me, but I suspect it was not my wit. I remember looking up from my uncomfortable position in a manzanita bush at Craig, who was doubled over laughing. I swore it was the new shoes and that i dont ever fall, but I'm not sure he heard me over all the laughing. That was my third such incident that day. The only one not bleeding was Max, good times.

Mike and Greg, glad to hear you guys are feeling good. I look forward to meeting everybody. I'm learning alot through these exchanges, thanks to Art and Eugene as well. I'm following alot of your advice re: nutrition and I think it's helping.

@Ben: I think Craig's moved on from the punk rock look, he has some other interesting ideas for running attire that i think involve fur.

Every post on this forum seems to degrade into a war. So now a happy thought….. I had been wearing a fairly old pair of trail shoes on my road runs and it was time for a new pair of road shoes. So I bought a great pair of Brooks Ghosts and went to Kennesaw Mtn for a triple ascent of the mountain. Ten miles and 1600' later I am happy to report that I had the best run of my life. What a difference the shoes made. I was able to really cruise on even the steepest downhills due to the better padding. I even stuck my arms out like an airplane on a couple of the steep downhill sections, getting weird looks from the walkers. I was a very happy camper when I got back to work. The strange thing is that my legs are already getting a bit sore due to the fast pace. :)))))

Nice Greg.

"I even stuck my arms out like an airplane on a couple of the steep downhill sections, getting weird looks from the walkers."

I do the same thing when I'm getting inspired. That, or jumping off small bumps and trying to run on air. I especially enjoy yammering like a coyote.

I've been meaning to ask you about your blister/foot care routine Greg; a good topic to open for discussion here. I remember reading on your PCT journal that you found slitting them worked better than poking for drainage- I've never tried that. What else are you doing? My typical procedure is drain and leukotape, covering the loose skin of the blister with a little backwards tape or tissue first so it won't stick. I also cut the sharp corners off the leukotape to keep it from peeling. Any other tips? Did you use/carry any glue?

After leaving he High Sierra I took five days off in Tahoe. My feet were shredded from the snow and I went to an urgent care because a couple of the blisters were infected. The doc slit the blisters and he told me it was much more effective in keeping them drained vs just poking alone. For the rest of the hike I would keep a bandaid covering the worst blister areas. I would personally lean toward bandaids over tape to keep the adhesive away from the actual blister.

I'm not doing anything now for blisters because I haven't had any during this training. One problem that I still have is hard spots almost like a cross between a callus and wart on the otside of my foot. This was extrememely painful on my trip. I have learned to manage this by literally shaving off layers to keep the thickness down.

I have more issues with blisters out west due to the dust. I learned the hard way (again) how important it is the keep the feet clean. Hopefully I don't relearn this on the R2R2R.

Greg,
By keeping your feet clean, do you mean wash them once or twice a day, or are you saying it's best to avoid letting dust into your shoes throughout the day?

Also, we're you using any lube when you had those blister issues?

I took three pairs of Wrightsocks and would change them every hour or two. I did not use a lube since that will attract dust. I did use a special blend of medicated and non medicated foot powder that helped with dry lube and athletes foot. It also allowed the dirt to come off easier. This setup worked well for me and I plan on using this on the R2R2R.

knock on wood I haven't had much of a problem w/ blisters, the few that I have had I've used a small piece of gauze and covered w/ Leukotape- I also round the edges to so it holds better, but I also use benzoin to make the adhesion even more robust

I have had very good luck w/ Hydropel in wet environs, but agree w/ Greg that for dry/dusty conditions it's not the best

Greg- what's you "secret" mix? also are you bringing multiple pairs of socks, I was thinking about throwing in one spare pair

Mike

Mike,
I would have love to have Hydropel for my time in the snow. My feet were wet for over a month solid and I think Hydropel would have helped.

I will either take two or three pairs (total), they weigh very little. My powder mix was a combination of regular foot powder, Gold Bond medicated foot powder and a lesser amount of Miconazole Nitrate 2% powder. I used pounds of this total on my trip and this seemed to be the best combination of performance and price.

I've had better luck on 30-40 milers when I change my socks every 10 miles. 40 miles = one pair on my feet and 3 pairs in my pack. If not that, at least rotate with another pair every 10 miles and let the previously worn pair dry out and fluff up a bit.

If I'm only bringing one pair, then every 10 miles, I take them off during a break, turn them inside out, beat them on a rock to knock out the dust, reinvert, and put them back on the other foot.

I try to do this for all hikes but am religious about it for GCNP: Trim your toothnails A WEEK in advance. You don't want that newly exposed skin to then get hammered against your shoe for 21 miles of downhill.

I know a lot of runners wear "tennis-sock" length – just above the shoe. For dusty trails, I like a little more height so that more of the dust goes outside the sock instead of inside against my skin.

boy you guys are dedicated to protecting your feet, and I applaud you for it.

Nothing fancy for me on the R2R2R. I'll be carrying a little leukotape just in case. Beside that, I'll just switch socks and clean my feet off real quick at the North rim.

Sockless or not, blisters have not been an issue for my feet. (*knock on wood)

Shoes that have open mesh uppers with a wide/roomy toebox and snug midfoot/heel that doesn't force my toes into the front of the shoe has worked very well for me. Mesh uppers aren't ideal in keeping out fine sediment and sand from my trails, but they do a hell of a job in allowing my feet to remain dry.

I will be wearing whatever relatively clean socks I have at the time I load up my pack for the road. ;-)

For this adventure, if you are all running regularly it shouldn't be a problem and Craig's solution should work… carrying a little tape. For this type of terrain and weather, I find the Wright Socks to be excellent. Normally I use merino wool socks on most trips though.

On other thing is to be cautious about impact injuries to the foot, especially on the downhills when you are tired and do not have as much control as you do on the uphills. A couple years ago I must have stepped on a sharp rock (note: I was wearing XC flats, which do not have a rock plate), while hiking, not running. I did not feel the impact, but everyone in a while it felt like my insole had split and was pinching my foot. After a couple miles, I took off my shoe and did not see anything and my foot looked okay… no visible injury. I hiked another 4 miles and made night camp. The next morning, the entire ball of my foot was one huge blister. Lancing it did no seem like a good idea. Hiked about 10 miles on mostly snow, then once out of the snow the blister popped on its own. It bother me some for the next 10 miles, and then the last 5 miles was somewhat painful. But I just kept hiking without taking off my shoe to do any first aid. The next morning it had dried out completely, and I just left the dead skin in place. No problem hiking the next day, which was a 6,000 foot descent and then several miles of hot flat walking in 100+ temperature. Anyway, for short trips sometimes it is better to leave things be than do too much first aid.

Long thru hikes are a completely different matter.

For those who have not done this kind of elevation loss and gain, the downhills are the brutal part. So you need to do a lot of steep elevation training, going downhill especially. The downhills can be absolutely brutal.

If you would like a severe training run a couple weeks before the trip, I am willing to help with logistics on a Desert Skyline Trail training run in Palm Springs. The trail is 11 miles long, with a 8,000' elevation gain. The last 1,000' you may want to skip. But a 7,000' uphill run and then return might be beneficial. The first 3,000 foot gain will be tough and running back down this section might not be a good idea, but just hiking it will be very beneficial after you have ran up 7,000' and then ran down 4,000'.

The trail will probably be hot after 10 AM, so you want to start around 7 AM or earlier. There is no water. When you get to 7,000' gain, you cannot risk going back down without enough water in your pack. And if you are too tired, you best not try to return, safer to hike up the last 1,000' which is the steepest section, and then take the tram down.

I can hike from the top down, and if anyone is having difficulty, I can bring extra water and lead you up to the tram. This section is not well marked in places, so you would want someone who knows the route to assist. Also, there could be snow and ice on this section, you might need to bring microspikes. Should not be any snow at 7,000' gain mark.

If everyone makes it to 7,000' and feels they can make it back down okay, then I will just hike down to the bottom, that way if anyone has difficulties I can help. I am getting too old to do this kind of a run, but hiking it is not too difficult.

Nick- if I was any where near close I'd definitely take you up on the offer :) I've got "hills" to run, wishing I had mountains!

Mike

That's an amazing offer Nick, thank you very much.

I'll have to see when something like that might work into my training, it definitely wouldnt be anywhere in the 3 weeks before the event. Is that a portion of the same 'cactus to clouds' hike you did with Craig? I need more time in the San Jacintos! I would be interested in doing that even after the GC. Especially now that I'm much more confident in my abilities.

I'm thinking that after the GC I'll be in the best shape of my life (hopefully) so what better time to see much of our local wilderness, right? I'm excited, I've seen so many new trails and mountains in just the past few months, I'm just going to keep going and see it all!

Adan,

Yes it is the first part of the C2C, but it is all desert.