3rd Annual BPL Spring Run -Zion Training Thread

Adan- looks great! Craig will have a tough time resisting that :)

Art- sorry to hear about your hip, hope it goes away for you.

I'm very fond of the N2's- sole is grippy, roomy toe box (but snug at the mid and rear), mild drop, the best shoe laces known to man (like little sausages so the knot doesn't come undone), lightweight yet stout enough for mountain running

probably a little less protection/cushioning than the Cascadias (just by looking at them side by side)

I've got 300 miles on mine and recently added screws to them, I'm thinking they might last me through winter; I've got a new pair in the box for spring

I think Eugene might be in N2's as well??????

Sick pictures Adan. Baldy looks pretty big and proud there.

So I was going to run up there tomorrow….but….a boat trip to spearfish at the Channel Islands has been put together. Underwater hunting it is. Hoping to put some fresh fish on the table for Thanksgiving.

One of these days I'll run.

One of these days….

I always get hyped on your rambles into the mountains, Adan.

@Mike and Art,

I'm still running in the PI Trail N2 and the N1, depending on the run. Last weekend I wore my pure grits for the first time in many months- definitely appreciated the extra cushion. Any idea what's causing the pain Art? Visited a therapist? Maybe it's your body's way of saying "run the ups, walk the downs"?

Have any of you run in the Inov8 Trailroc shoes? I scored a pair of Trailroc 245s on clearance. I have a feeling they're going to ride really low.

"Underwater hunting it is then".

Good comeback. Looking forward to pictures man. In other news, I must have been a bit sloppy with my ice axe on Baldy Sunday because I vaguely remember taking a good bell-ringer on the knee cap with it at one point. I was surprised at how little it hurt at the moment and I continued on for a really nice 6 mile run back down. Fast forward 24hrs and I feel a little something tingly there. Another 24hrs and I can hardly walk. Running on pause until the knee forgives.

Pretty chill week on my end so far, took some time to recover from last weekends 50K with zero running. Felt pretty shitty up until about Wed., but have rebounded nicely the last few days. Didn't run a single mile yesterday, in fact it never crossed my mind. Enjoyed the hell out of Thanksgiving with my family and friends over two different dinners and many glasses of wine and beer.

Wasn't up for running today, but the warm weather lulled me out the door this afternoon for a ride with some friends on the singlespeed. I'm not in great bike shape right now, at least not the shape these guys are in, but managed to keep up. I guess you can call today a cross training day or whatever. A few hours out on the singletrack and rock gardens…

A riding mate, ripping through a technical section.

I pulled the trigger on registering for the Black Canyon 100K on Feb. 15th in AZ. Jamil Coury of Aravaipa Running is putting it on, so it should be a great race- point to point course along the Black Canyon Trail in Central AZ. This will be my first time running that distance and definitely a good focus point going into winter. I'm a little nervous about running the distance, but I figure there's only one way to see what it's all about.

You're killing it Eugene. The only thing that could potentially give you trouble with a 100K is going too fast. I think you've certainly got the fitness to finish with a respectable time.

Here's two pics from my spearing adventures at the Channel Islands the other day. I wish I had a GoPro; I was getting followed and chased by seals for half the day. One tried to get the perch off my stringer.

That top photograph….damn. Blowing my mind.

How do you feel after a full day of freediving out in big water? You have to feel pretty spent by days end with a mean appetite.

To be honest, the most exhausting part of this trip was nerves. I had my kids with me and took shifts taking them out snorkeling between spearing runs. It's deep water, prime for sharks, and still a little nerve wracking to have them out there with me. Statistically I suppose the risks are minimal, but it certainly doesn't feel that way when a 10 year old is clinging to you and shivering after jumping overboard.

__________________

On the running note, you guys have permission to call me out as a complete chump if I don't report back with a decent trail run by Monday.

Craig, I just finished reading up your latest post over at the 'Garden'. Without a doubt in my mind, I would be sharing the same thoughts and trepidation as your children were likely going through out on the water. Peering into the deep, dark, cold water, with shadows and unknown things lurking- conditions that may as well be out of this world for me nearly a thousands miles inland. You are blessing your children with positive experiences that build them up. Thanks for the inspiration.

week 1 S. – 17 TR, S – weights, M. -TM(65,13,5.5), T-weights, W – TM(65,13,5.4), H – Eating plus 5 recovery walk, F – 35 fast hike

TR – Trail run
TM – Treadmill(minutes, max incline at 4.5mph, max speed walking)
Weights – all upper body

For the last four years I have trained for a spring event, TRT, PCT, R2R2R, Bob Open starting about Thanksgiving. So Week 1 was this week. The biggest difference in this year's philosophy is to push to limits without injury. Previous years I have ignored the latter part but as I age I get a bit wiser and a bit slower to heal so I am willing to back off some individual objectives to prevent injury.

I am now fully addicted to hitting the gym especially the treadmill routine. This routine has worked well in duplicating closely my normal fast hiking events. After a brief warmup I set the treadmill at 4.5 mph and then increase the incline by 1 degree per minute maxing out at 13 degrees this week then decreasing back down to level. At level I increase the speed .1 mph up to a max of about 5.4 mph and then back down. This is all done walking, not running and I have found this routine has significantly increased my trail speed.

On Saturday I did an easy 17 miles on a rail trail. I think completely flat courses may be harder than rolling hills since you use the exact same muscles over and over. Friday was a very successful, failed hike on the NY section of the AT. My intent was my the first 40 mile day in a few months. But a combination of factors led to me cutting it short at 35 miles, I couldn't find my headlamp when it got dark. It was a very solid hike, total speed was a bit over 3mpd for the full 35. I can honestly say that with the intensity of this week every muscle in my body is sore, not hurting, so this is great feeling.

A few pictures from Friday. Not the wowness of the west but still great to be out in the fresh air.

Fitzgerald Falls

Cat Rocks with Eastern Pinnacle in Background. (The trail went over miles of these ridges.)

greenwood Lake on NY/NJ Border

Craig, killer images man. Lets talk about getting me geared up to spear soon. A spearing hike around Catalina would be pretty cool. A lot of my cross training is with surfing in mind, so of course I'm looking forward to that too. The ocean, she's a beautiful and powerful force, and I feel her pull as well each time I go.

Greg, your training week would damn near kill me. I gotta step it up man, thanks for the boost. Can I read about your bob Marshall hike somewhere?

Adan,
Here is last year trip report at the bottom of the page.
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=67376&startat=80

Here is this year's thread. it will be an additional 30-40 miles longer depending on route.
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=81296

Last years event was some of the finest hiking I have ever done. Come join us, Zion will be the perfect training.

Greg
you're a monster as usual.

Craig
I can't see calling you out just yet, you did a great job simply walking the route at J-Tree, I'm sure you'll come thru.

Eugene
your first 100K, a big step. even more important to take it out slow. some say to view a 100K as a short 100 miler but I would not go that far. just make your long runs a tad longer in preparation, then start slow and stay slow on race day.

Adan
good to see you out there, how is the pain management going ?

Mike
you may be the breakout ultra runner of the year in this group you're coming along great

Me
happy to report I'm off the bottom. had a 29 and 27 mile week, then did a 16 miler yesterday so should hit the mid 30's this week.
a couple injuries are still not healed so I need to be careful, but what else is new when you're running ultras.

p.s.
John V.
yes a monster too, but with an addiction to spending money on official events, the RD's love him, easy money.
I've stopped trying to keep up with his mileage.
he'll be there in April.

Eugene- good on you, a 100k is a serious outing! You'll be in tip top shape by April

Craig- nice photos, didn't even know there was a sea perch- how do they eat?

Greg- that's an impressive week of training!

Art- your mileage is gaining rapidly, hope you can shake your injuries soon

I had a good week, got my 5 year grandson to hike the M on Mt Sentinel on Thanksgiving- it's only about two miles, but gains ~ 650' of elevation, the next way we did the L on Mt Jumbo- again about 2 miles w/ ~ 500' of elevation gain- he loved it!

week looked like this: strength/4.5/0/0/strength/15/10= 29.5 miles w/ ~ 7000' of elevation gain

These pics are from this past Sunday's longish run (14 miles). This was an atypical run for me, but I was pressed for time. I headed straight out the front door and hit the irrigation ditch behind our neighborhood, took that west towards the Rio Grande and headed north in the riverbed for an out and back. Pretty much a pancake flat run since I was running at the bottom of the Mesilla Valley, but it was a good mix of comfortably hard tempo miles on the ditches and levee leading out and back, and a few miles of running in the sand and gravel of the seasonally dry Rio Grande in between (*betcha didn't know it goes belly up this far south come winter).

I hear there's a shit load of sand in Zion. Sand running is smart training right?

we (I?) found out last spring @ Joshua Tree that running in the sand is very tough- I think it contributed greatly to the wheels coming off for me

from what I've read we do have a pretty decent stretch of sand in the earlier portion of the run, so yes sand running should be great training :)

Greg, Your Bob report was fun. In my perfect world, I would probably be very much into these types of events. In my real world, I value peaceful wilderness time very much and this kind of training would pretty much make that impossible with the little time I have already getting out. Training for Zion is much easier in my view, it's just running trails. I will follow that thread with interest though, what a blast.

Art, my ITB issue finally is behind me, if one can ever really say that. However, my cramping issue that I enjoyed so much in JT…separate beast. After much research, I have discovered I have some "interesting" cramping/fasciculation activity to contend with. Still hoping the "train harder, race slower" comes through for me and allows me to continue hanging with you chiseled dynamos.

Craig, I finally got the ice axe extracted from my knee. Damn knee better get it's shit together while there's still snow on the ground or I will amputate. I'll be back on the move next weekend, let's get out.

sand running, training
yeah I'm gonna have to run on the beach now and then, shirt off to catch some rays …

Adan
yes it was your cramping I was asking about, pretty strange, but if you start very slow and stay slow, just a walk in the park.

I learned in J Tree that MT110s are the worst sand running shoe n the world. The sand pour in the outer, getting trapped between it and the inner. I probably lost an hour just to emptying my shoes.

So I'm going to keep polluting this here running thread with surfing.
This was a local spot on Thanksgiving morning (not my photo though):

The last week has been too good. The hell with running with waves like this. I'll ultra-pedestrian the whole whole damned trail if I have to. For now, surfing.

Nice pics Eugene, I like the second quite a bit.

Dang, you were surfing in that? Gotta be a least 20' ?

Nope, not me. That thing was definitely a rogue. I would've spoiled my wetsuit.
The average was 2-4' overhead, more like this: (again, not my photo, but shot locally last Friday):

Pure fun.
It's gotten smaller through the week, but still a ton of fun.

So that's my excuse.

Someone's going to yell at me for all this thread drift.

Craig – as long as you can break 17 hours on April 5th
and you have to go the whole 48 as punishment for all this surfing …

"I would've spoiled my wetsuit"

I would have SOILED mine :)

Okay, I am NOT interested in running in such a beautiful place — better to walk it over a few days and explore, and am getting to old for long runs anyway.

But I have been watching the thread and posting since I have been thinking about doing a camping trip in Zion. The boss has wanted to go there for awhile.

It is too far away time-wise to plan and I have to run it by the boss. I'm sure she would be happy to go.

Anyway, if we camp there for a week or two we would be able to help with the shuttle duties and our large camper would make for a good base camp. Plus the Idster could come out and entertain us. So maybe.

Nick- that would be great if you and the boss could make it, would love to meet a few more bpl folks- same goes for Doug :)

Mike