Two a days

Posted on July 31, 2010 by besaroboy

When I was training for the Portland Marathon I did two a days a lot. 4.25 miles to my office, 4.25 back home. The early morning run was downhill and then uphill on the backside. The summer runs in the afternoon were grueling, the uphill portions also included a flight of stairs in Creston Park. Great training runs both ways.

I haven’t done any of these double runs since then until today. Instead of being a back and forth run, today’s was a slow 4.35 miles and then a separate 2.8 miles at a tempo pace. The slow portion was a lot funner and it was good to run with my running partner and her dog again, it had been awhile. We managed a nearly 12 minute pace with several stops for pee breaks and house price scoping. We had perfect cool running weather with a start right after 7:00. We concluded the morning run with a mouse removal.

After a quick bus ride I dropped my bag and picked up my water bottle. I headed out on my Tour of SE run and busted out a 8:03 first mile followed by a 7:56 mile, just under an 8 min mile average (If I factor in my actual time, I add 8 seconds to the first mile pushing me over an 8 min average. I’ll take the faster!) The last partial mile I slowed way down and eased myself back into a more reasonable 9:30 pace. I wanted to do the entire run at tempo, but I’ll take 2 miles.

Both runs were really good and together make a pretty nice quality run of sorts for the morning. And its always great to run with my favorite running companions!

Mile high intervals

Posted on July 27, 2010 by besaroboy

This morning I made it over to the high school track. It always brings back memories of those years even though I didn’t run track in HS. The extent of my time in the stadium was spent marching for half-time shows with the band. Still it is kind of neat to run there. I didn’t think I would be able to get in at first as all gates were locked. I had given up and headed to the Jr. High just to the north when I saw what looked to be an open gate used for maintenance purposes. So I sneaked in and was able to crank out some straights and curves, two miles worth. The run ended up being just under 5 miles in total.

I am still noticing the elevation here. My HR seems to stay 5-10 beats higher than normal and my speed on the straights was lessened. I noticed that my recovery seemed to be affected as well. As I would finish my “sprints” on the straights I would fall into a slow jog on the curves and my HR continued to rise for longer than I am used to. In fact it kept going up for nearly half the curved portion before it started falling. Of course it then didn’t get back to as low as I usually liked before it was time to run fast again. So 150+ was a bout as low as the distances would allow me. For the last two laps of my run I was feeling pretty pooped out, the humidity was killing me. I almost gave up but decided that I would continue on and force myself to complete the full circuit of eight laps.

My cool down was pretty slow and I plodded along past an old girlfriend’s house, the library and an astonishingly large corn field in someones lot that used to be a pet cemetery. This is my last run of this trip to Winslow and I find myself missing the chance to get out in the town to relive memories. But I have to say I will not miss the heat, the humidity or the elevation.

White runner

Posted on July 25, 2010 by besaroboy

“Its a local my Lord, in a flat bed Ford. Slowin’ down to take a look at me.”

Here in Northern AZ I am somewhat of an oddity. Most of the runners in this part of the country are Native Americans, in Winslow many of them are Hopi or Navajo. The high school cross country teams are pretty solid indications of this racial makeup. I imagine the running portions of the local track team are as well. The only other runner I saw on this trip was a Native American woman, though I hear stories of white woman who lives here who runs marathons. Still I seem to get a number of stares from cars driving by and people on the street and I know they aren’t basking in my good looks.

Today I ran out to the Little Colorado river that was running as fast as I have ever seen it. It was milk chocolate brown and swollen from the monsoon rains. The bridge over the river was a bout 3.25 miles from the house and I continued on to Indian tourist shop where I turned around hoping for an eight mile run in total. Several trains roared by and kept me company. On the way back on old highway 66 I stopped by the 911 memorial that contains several girders from the event. Someone had graphitied a rock saying “USA kicks ass.” Only in Winslow. Actually and sadly, probably in many areas of the country…

Mile high desert run to Five Mountains

Posted on July 24, 2010 by besaroboy

Ok, as usual I am exaggerating. Winslow is actually a shade under 500o ft. but it sure is a lot different than the 500 ft. elevation I am used to in Portland. I was curious to see how long it would take to get used to the change. In the past it seemed like 3-4 days was enough to acclimate to the new elevation and this trip has more or less confirmed that. For the first two runs I did (on days 2 and 3) I struggled a bit with my breathing. Just couldn’t seem to get enough oxygen. Even when I wasn’t running it seemed like I was always slightly out of breath. Nothing huge, but it certainly was noticeable. Even now at day five here I still feel slightly out of breath.

The big difference has of course been breathing. My first run I started out at 3 breaths in and 2 out, after only a few blocks I was breathing 2 and 2. Soon I was down to 2 and 1. I was surprised how quickly I transitioned into the faster breathing. And I wasn’t even doing a hard pace. The second run was about the same. It wasn’t until my third desert marathon that I was able to settle into my normal 3 – 2 breathing pattern.

As tough as the breathing was I think the more drastic change was in my heart rate. It was exceptionally high for runs that I was not doing at a super fast pace. My average pace was up above 165 for most of the runs and 155 for my “recovery” run. Way too high. We are having some high humidity, so that could be having an effect, but I am mostly attributing this to the change in elevation. All in all I would say my HR was about 20-25 beats higher than normal. I think this had quite a drastic effect on how I was feeling on the runs, but my post-run recovery seemed to go pretty smoothly. Every next morning I was ready for another run.

Yesterday I had a really great run out to what is called Five Mountains, really a chain of five mesas north of Winslow. I had ridden out there once on bikes as a kid and for some reason the area always held a level of mystique for me. Partly I think was due to the fact that i was never totally sure how we got out there and partly because I never went out there with my parents on any of our desert explorations. It was our place, “our” being the gang. In my mind it was only accessible via my old long gone purple bike. It seemed so far away too. You could always see it in the distance, but I never knew how far it was. Nobody seemed to know. Even as an adult, it seemed like it was miles away (and it was three miles to be exact from Desert View where my sister lives.)

On trips home I would always consider running out there, but I never did. This time I asked my sister and niece how to get out there and neither had any idea. They actually weren’t even sure what I was talking about. “Its that big mesa out there north of Winslow” I would say, “Can’t you see it.” “Whatever” said my niece… Hmmm, if nobody knows how to get there, how would I get there? My mom had an idea that I could head out to the old dump and find a road to the mesas, but that would be too long for a run as I would have to double back to the south, plus there was no shoulder on the road.

So on my Friday run I headed out towards Desert View originally not intending to go much further. The day was cloudy and that combined with my early start kept the temperatures nice and cool. Tooling along on the trail that runs through a culvert under the highway I thought to myself I may not have a better opportunity to try the mysterious run to Five Mountains. I dropped by my sisters house hoping to use the bathroom (I miss not having the bathroom mid-run at Reed) but she wasn’t awake despite the cacophony from her four dachshunds. I filled up my bottle from her garden hose with the most vile water imaginable (but still wet) and headed down the road to the desert north of her house.

Through a muddy dip I chased a jack rabbit and headed in the general direction of the mesas. The roads, used for off road fun, twisted and dipped and featured many ruts that I am sure are a lot funner on an ATV. My ankles rolled to match up with the uneven terrain. North I went. Then the road turned, and split, and got worse. Soon I was heading due west towards two water tanks that service a new community west of town. I thought I would just keep going for awhile in hopes of turning back towards the mesas, and the road did! Unfortunately I soon took me up a big hill and to the east, again the wrong direction. I was on the verge of giving up and heading for Walmart when the road ended in a big circle used for spinning broddies. I looked to the north again at my mesas and I saw a barbed wire fence between me and the mountains. I thought, what the heck, I’ll go see if there is any way I can get through. As I reached the fence I found a spot that looked like someone had broken through. Some rancher had repaired it but left me enough space to easily squeeze through. I thought, this is a sign that I should keep going toward my goal, so I did. Not 100 feet away, I had a bad sign when I tripped over a dried prairie grass clump and landed in the redest most powdery sand imaginable. With the sweat I had worked up at that point I managed to completely cover my right side. I was a mess. But I continued on.

As horrible tasting as that hose water was, I was super glad to have it. And powered by the Tower of Power I did an Oakland Stroke across the sands. The ground was oddly swept by winds and rains and many of the sparse desert plants where pretty green. The going was slow as I pushed through the sandy soil. The mesas loomed in the distance, looking much further than the 3 miles they actually were. I was determined to make it out there and eventually I did despite thoughts of getting bit by a rattlesnake. I kept my distance from larger brush piles and such. Eventually I found myself on a long flat stretch to the south of the mesas and I knew I was home free. I had made it! Now I just had to climb to the top. Actually the thoughts of climbing the mesa was on my mind the entire run colored by my fear of heights. I could see a spot on the side of the mesa where I probably could reach the top. The last bit was like a sandstone nipple and really made me reconsider the ascent. But by the time I reached it I knew I had no choice, I had to get to the top. So I stopped my watch and made the climb. The ground was pretty soft due to the sand and rain we had had, but I trudged through the crumbling face and made it to the stone top. I wasn’t done yet though. I had to get to the very top and stand up straight to look out at the desert floor all around me. And I did. I was pretty nervous about it and standing up was a chore and a half, but I did it. I didn’t stay long, just snapped some pics on my phone (which came out poorly) and headed back down.

Coming down was pretty nerve racking for me. I spent a good amount of the initial rocky part on my but scooting down. I figured I was already covered in red dirt anyway, so whats the dif. The crumbly part posed further climbing challenge, but one I realized I could crab walk sideways and keep my balance I was fine. I have to say I was glad to be at the bottom. I hope this sounds like the mesa was really high, becasue it wasn’t. I am just a heights wuss.

At the bottom I realized I hadn’t searched out the road back so I wouldn’t have to cross through the desert again. Well I wasn’t climbing back up, that’s for sure. So I decided to just take the road and see where it led. I had the water tanks in the distance as a guide, so at the very worst I could just head off toward those. The rod curved through several washes and carved out trails in the sandstone. As I got closer to the water tanks I was also going further west, the opposite direction from home. But I had a pretty solid idea that eventually I would meet up with a road that was meant for real human transport so I kept on. Eventually my dirt road came to a fence and soon a gate (complete with a no trespassing sign) and beyond the gate, I found myself across a cattle guard and onto asphalt. After a long stretch of blacktop I came to the side road along I-40 and headed back into town and my sisters neighborhood. I had another 2.5 miles to get home and I decided I had enough. It was time to wake up my sister and get a ride home which is just what I did. Her dogs loved me, I was a giant stinky desert salt pop and they licked and licked. After several cold G2s I felt much better. I had done it, I had conquered the Five Mountains. And I even know how to get back there now, not that I ever will. It was a lot funner as a kid than as a heights challenged/addled adult.

Seriously, do I do my track workouts at your day care?

Posted on July 14, 2010 by besaroboy

Today I got a little bit of a late start considering how hot it is. But even at noon it was only reasonably warm out. Well at least when I started anyway. By the time I got to the track I was really starting to warm up. There were a number of people at the track including a mother, her three small children and their bikes. Her phone conversations were more important than watching her kids. After dodging cycling kids several times that interrupted my intervals I decided to leave. But not before I barked out “Seriously, do I do my track workouts at your day care?” and called her rude. ahh yeas, vindication.

So I wish I could say I had left because they forced me off the track, but in was more the heat that ended my run early. I still feel it was a quality workout, I certainly feel tired. When I was ding my Straights and Curves I felt pretty good for the most part. The last half mile or so was really tough, but I always felt like I could make it through them with no problem. I probably could have done the final two laps, but I was feeling the effects of the heat to a pretty high extent and decided it would be better if I just headed home. The cooldown, a 2.5 mile run back to my house was pretty hard and I was looking for shade the entire way. I found a little, but not much.

I really need to get up early!

Track work

Posted on June 30, 2010 by besaroboy

Visitors in town last week brought on a four day layoff from running. While I blame them, really it was just a convenient excuse to postpone making the switch to early morning heat avoidance runs. Seriously my laziness is getting out of hand! I’ll get in the groove of it, I just need to commit to setting my alarm and dragging my butt out of bed. So today was a start. I didn’t set the alarm but I let the sun wake me up instead. I had committed last night to doing a quality run of some sort, so I rolled out of bed and got ready.

The track was relatively empty this morning so I had my choice of lanes. I like to start on the outside and make my way toward the inner lane, changing lanes every lap as a way to keep count. Seems to work out well. I manage to do three miles of straights and curves with a 2.25 mi warm up and 3.25 on the back end. It was really cool this morning and it made for a great run. Now I just need to keep up with these morning runs.

I also think I would like to do an occasional hot daytime run, maybe even schedule one in every week. As long as I keep hydrated I think I would see some benefit form doing it.

Tough recovery run

Posted on June 24, 2010 by besaroboy

This morning I really didn’t feel like running. I was still pretty burnt out form the hot run yesterday, but we have guests coming and I need to get my miles in when I can. I am hoping to get a long run in Saturday after they leave. Sunday is pretty much out as I have a concert to play in the morning. Both days will be hard to run on as I probably won’t get going until the afternoon and by then it may be too warm. I guess I need to get used to it, plus I should burn more calories in the heat.

I could still feel the effects of yesterday’s cramping in my calves. It wasn’t too bad, but it was definitely there. I have been trying extra hard to hydrate today. The run was actually pretty nice, it was getting warm but still pretty cool and a nice breeze helped out immensely. I didn’t push it even when I was passed by a good looking girl (she didn’t last for too long at her pace.) I pushed the run out for longer than I originally intended, it ended up 7.5 miles. Slow miles.

440s + heat = cramps

Posted on June 23, 2010 by besaroboy

I got a late start to my day today. It was really nice out, sunny and warm. I say nice (and it is) just not so much for running. We have had a very cool and wet spring which I think is perfect for running. So this was my first real warm run (an not even that warm – 74) and of course I am on schedule for a quality run. So I headed for the track. At first I was unsure what I was going to do once I got there. I decided on 440 intervals with a 220 recovery jog. I knew it was going to be a rough one so I had lots of water and forced myself to drink sips throughout. I also had a pack of sport beans and they helped a bit as well. After the first couple of them I was really feeling it. I ended up doing six altogether (actually one of them was a 550 as I had started out of my recovery early and wanted to keep on pattern.) The final two were brutal and I slowed down a bit, I still felt ok. Tired and hot, but I had energy to keep going.

After the 440s I headed home which was another 2.5 miles. I took the canyon on the way back. With all the rain we have had the canyon is bursting with vegetation. As I was heading down a corridor of 5 foot high yellow blooming plants on either side of me I noticed a big blackberry vine across the path. Never one to pass up on a junior parkour moment, I picked up speed to hurdle it. A soon as I leapt my push-off leg totally cramped up for a few seconds. I figured this had to do with the heat and my exertion. Closer to home going through the park another obstacle was in my path, this time a discard kids bike. So of course I had to hurdle it. This time as soon as I left my feet on the jump both legs cramped up. I made it over the bike, but my landing was really awkward and I had a really tough time keeping upright. I wobbled along on my painful legs and after a few moments I was back to normal. It was an odd feeling as I normally don’t have an issue with cramping when running. I really think the heat and electrolyte loss was affecting me. I probably should have been more liberal with the running candy or had some replacement drink with me other than water.

Once I made it home I gobbled a whey protein bar which I think really helps is recovery for me if I eat it soon after I stop. I also have a big glass of G2 that I am slowly drinking in order to really take advantage of absorption. I’ll live, but that was a tough one. Just one of several lately. I think it would behoove me to get up an run earlier.

Long run of the week

Posted on June 21, 2010 by besaroboy

This week’s long run wasn’t actually that long, but it was longer than it could have been. A friend of mine invited me to go running with him and a friend of his. Both of them aren’t regular runners, so I knew it would be very casual. To top it off he wanted to run Mt Tabor which is by no means a casual run. So not only would it be casual, but would feature a lot of stopping which was fine.

So knowing all this I decided to get some miles in ahead of time. I have been contemplating adding Laurelhurst park into my regular core of runs. I discovered it was 3.25 miles from my house to the park and about a mile around it. So all in all 7.5 miles in total from home to park and back. I didn’t head back home, rather ran over to the volcano to meet my friends. I was running a bit late so I had to put on the afterburners to make it up the hill in time. After meeting them we headed up the volcano. It was fun and nice to have some company as my running partner has been out of town all week. All in all I got in 10.5 miles, not enough to put me over the 40 miles total for the week. I hope to get out today for a good start to the week.

Watermark hill repeats

Posted on June 19, 2010 by besaroboy

I love having one of those runs when everything seemed to go really well. Today my hill repeat run was one of those. I almost wasn’t going to do it. Temperatures seemed like they were rising but actually weren’t. Clouds snuck in and cooled off the afternoon, so I figured I had no excuse for not doing it. My schedule called for a quality run so off I went.

I have found a route that I like a lot that winds up and down the side of this sloped area. It gives me three blocks of varying degrees of uphill followed by five recovery blocks. Basically it zig-zags giving me ten up and downs along it for four miles or so. The uphills at the start (and end) are tough ones with the middle hills being the flattest. Once I got going it felt really good and I did my best to power up the hills. After the first five sets I turn around and go down the ones I went up on and up the downs. I gobbled an espresso gel which probably had something to do with the way I kept up for the second half. The final hill was hard, it is the largest and consistently uphill the entire way of the series.

The watermark was in my heart rate. Previously my high was 186 which had risen from the estimated 184 I started with. After the first couple of hills I was starting to get pretty high HRs; over 180. I slowed into the high 170s as the hills flattened out. Once my return covered the easy hills my HR rose again. The third hill from the end was the first of the tough ones. I did a good job of powering up it. I didn’t want to slow down too much, I knew I was a bit anyway. As I neared the top my HR climbed over 180, then kept rising. As it got close to 185 or so I felt really strong and kept going. All of a sudden, 188. New Max HR. My recovery was really slow and I was able to bring my HR down to the 130s after my downhills.

The second to the last hill was progressively larger and I powered up with my new HR in mind. With a block to go my pace was ok, not fast but steady. My HR climbed again, soon 188 again. Then right as I neared the top of the hill: 189. Ok, that was it, no more setting Max HR. The last hill was slower, but I made it up despite indecisive drivers. Lastly, a mile back to the house for some proper recovery food and drink. After a whey protein bar and 24 ounces of G2 I felt pretty good. Also, was awarded a year contract with my largest client and invited to a meeting with a Vietnamese business delegation. So my proper recovery was followed with a celebration dinner at our neighborhood spot Toast. Great gnocchi!

I felt really good after this run, much like I have been after the quality runs I do. This run is 6.5 miles, though I think I might have missed a hill after the turn around. 6.5 or 7, either is a good distance. It was sort of nice not to spend a long distance on my feet for this run. I need to get it consistent so I can start comparing them.

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