Week 12: Half way

3/6/12: 6 miles
      Cold, wet and windy outside today and since I am on the tail end of being sick I decided to play it safe and run indoors. I could tell I wasn't 100% recovered from the cold I had this last weekend but it felt good to be running again. Ended up running 6 miles in 48 minutes.

3/7/12: 8.5 miles
       Busted out my new shoes for the first time on the Syringa trail today and after 8.5 miles I still like them. I do think they will be much better summer shoe than a winter shoe. The Shoes I got are Asics's "Fuji Racer" they weigh only 9 oz and are purple, gold and black (the only color they come in). They are extremely breathable which is why they are going to make a better summer over winter shoe. The shoes also have a drainage system in the bottom of the shoe which I think will be great for stream crossings but not so sure how they will do in mud (letting water in through the bottom of the shoe that would not have gotten there otherwise). The trail was very ice for the first 1.25 miles and I didn't take the Microspikes (Dumb move which resulted in one big butt plant on the ice, yes I have a big butt ) but the backside had a lot of open ground which made the decision to not bring the spikes not as dumb, because I got to run on dirt Yeah!!! You can tell spring is just around the corner and hopefully in the next couple of weeks all of the snow will be gone on the trail. During the icy spots on the trail I went off trail dodging trees and other obstacles, which was a lot of fun. On the uphill sections the new shoes shined they are so light that my feet felt weightless (probably helped that I didn't have a pound of spikes on my feet either) which made going up much easier and faster. Overall it was a great run enjoyed running on dirt! and so far so good on the new shoes though my calves are a little sore; due to the new shoes having nearly half as much heel to toe drop than my normal shoes (6mm compared to 11mm).

3/8/12: 8 miles
     Needed to get in a quick morning run so I just ran at the gym. Ran 8 miles on the treadmill, took just under 1:07 to finish.

3/9/12: 5.25 miles
      Met up with Vern to run Syringa. Wore the spikes for the first 1.25 miles then took them off as we crested the top and started on the backside. Even less snow and ice today then Wednesday (3/7). Beautiful day with Temps in the upper 40's. Actually ran in shorts (no tights) and a t-shirt, it was great! Though I will say for the first 1.25 miles it felt kind of weird running in just a t-shirt and shorts and still having to wear Microspikes to deal with snow and ice. Fun run, looking forward to more good weather.

3/10/12: 10 miles
        Ran from my house to the Mickinnick trail head where I met up with Vern. Started out running up the trail but slowed to a hike as we encountered deep and soft snow. Post holing happened ever couple of steps and sometimes every step As we continued higher and higher up the mountain, the snow got deeper and deeper and at one time I post holed up to my chest in the snow (yes the snow was that deep) which forced me to belly craw out of the hole I had created. So needless to say the going was slow. Despite having to hike most of the trail, it was great just to be up in the mountains with the sun shining. It took 1:44 to get to the top which was a new record; it was our slowest ascent so far. Coming down wasn't a ton better as far as post holing went until we got about 2 miles down the hill. We were then able to pick up the pace and get in some running. The weather was great the whole trip the sun was out and the wind wasn't that bad which made for a very enjoyable outing.

Total miles: 37.75

Good week, still not 100% after being sick last weekend and the beginning of this week so I cut off 24% of my planned mileage for the week just so I wouldn't overdo it and remain sick (or get worse). The weather was great towards the end of the week which was much appreciated. The forecast for next week looks like a lot of rain so we'll see how that goes.

   

Pocatello Course Update

The official course for the Pocatello 50 is out. The full course is 52.3 miles long with 12,600'of vertical gain and 12,600' of vertical loss. The lowest point is 4,500' and the highest point is over 8,500' in elevation. There are two climbs where you ascend over 1,200' per mile, sounds like fun. Below are the course map and profile. The 50+ miler runs all three legs and if you got to pocatello50.com/course-info/  you can find a link to view the course with google earth so you can the course in 3D. I'm looking forward to the challenge, just 3 months left till race day. 

Week 10 & 11: Falling short of expectations, depression, sickness

Week 10:

2/21/12: 12 miles
         Needed to squeeze in a run between an early morning meeting and an evening shift at work. I decided to run on the treadmill so I could control how fast I was going without the challenge of snow and ice due to limited time. I ended up running the 12 miles in 1:38. It felt like a good effort but had more in the tank when the run was all said and done, which is a good thing.

2/22/12: 6 miles
        I didn't find time to run till 10pm tonight. So I found myself back at the gym on the treadmill. It took 48 minutes to run the 6 miles. I will say one nice thing about running indoors at this time of year is that I can wear a t-shirt and shorts and not have to pack a backpack full of emergency gear in case something goes wrong out in the wintery weather.

2/23/12: 7 miles
        Headed up Mickinnick with Vern, the first 1.5 miles was fairly hard packed but the last 2 miles to the top we found ourselves trudging through 6-10 inches of new snow. The hardest part of navigating the snow was that the hard packed snow under the new snow had turned soft so when you tried to push off you would sink up the your knees and sometimes crouch. Due the trail conditions we did very little running after the 1.5 mark. About a mile from the top we ran into a hiker coming down. As soon as I was him I could tell he was in pretty bad shape. His jeans were completely soaked and his face was pale and you could just sense that he was completely exhausted. We stopped and talked with him for a little bit, it had taken him 3 hours to reach the top and he hadn't brought anything to eat or drink. I pulled a energy bar from my pack and gave him my water bottle and Vern gave him an electrolyte drink. After he got some food and water in him he continued down the mountain as we maintained our journey to the top. Our conversations consisted of the situation of the young man, being prepared for winter outings, and wilderness survival. Coming down the trail was frustrating and fun at the same time. Frustrating because you really couldn't run or you would post-hole up to your waste yet fun because you could ski around the steep corners. Towards the bottom we caught up with Nick the young man we meet earlier on the trail. He looked a ton better, the color had returned to his face and he seemed to be doing ok. We found out that he had never been on the Mickinick trail before and the it took him over 5 hrs to go up and back. He thanked us for the help and said whatever we gave him to eat and drink really saved him. I'll give him props for making it to the top especially in those conditions but it could have ended up really bad for him. You never know, but I have a feeling that if we hadn't ran into him up there and offered him help he may never have come off the mountain, alive.

Total miles: 25
 
I didn't run the rest of the week due to a combination of scheduling, snow and lack of motivation. I worked morning shifts during the later part of the week which is normally the time that I run. I had every intention to run at night but for whatever reason I just couldn't get myself out the door at 10pm. It has been tough dealing with the days I didn't run. I don't think it has hurt me as much physically as mentally. For the first time since starting my trainning I feel like I have fallen short of the expectations I have set for myself, and the only one to blame is me. This realization has made me question why I am even attempting to run an ultra marathon, because its much easier not to (no more early morning runs or late night ones). What is the driving force that compels me to want to run 50+ miles in the mountains? I guess what am I'm trying to say here is that the "natural man" (lazy) in me is fighting with the one who wants to see just how far I can go. I know which one I want to win (how far I can go), but the other is not giving up with out giving everything its got.

Vern fighting through the snow

    Week 11:

2/28/12: 8 miles
       The weekend brought more snow about 10" in town and a couple feet in the mountains. So I have had a slight bit of depression the last few days because I was really hoping for an early spring. I did make it out to run the Syringa trail today despite all the snow it was a gorgeous day the sun was out and absolutely everything was covered in pure white snow. The trail was in OK shape, the first mile or so was hard packed due to some snowshoers and the rest was 6-10" of new snow. I took a slow pace while I was cutting fresh tracks and just enjoyed being out in the woods.

2/29/12: 3 miles
        Ran three miles on the treadmill before a 1hr long lifting session.

3/1/12: 14 miles + 6 mile biking
      Ran 14 miles on the treadmill because I didn't want to run in the slushy conditions outside. I was planing on running at least 20 miles but about 12 miles in I just started feeling worn out and my throat started hurting. I toughed it out for another 2 miles before I decide to try biking to see if that would knock me out of my funk. It didn't so after biking 6 miles I called it a day. A few hours latter my sinuses were clogged my throat hurt and I developed a cough. So I know why I was feeling so bad on my run, I was getting SICK.

Total miles: 25

 Started the week off depressed over all the new snow, I just can't wait to run on dirt again. The snow has been fun and challenging but I can't wait till its gone. I did order a par of snowshoes so I'm looking forward to using them to get up into the mountains but still can't wait for spring. Getting sick was defiantly not on the menu and as much as I wanted to run more this week after last weeks dismal performance I'm trying to play it smart and get better so I don't get worse.

Syringa trail head

Syringa trail

Week 9: Full speed ahead

2/13/12: 10 miles
       Decided to run on the treadmill, wanted to be close to a bathroom as my stomach was a little upset. Ended up having a pretty good run finished the 10 miles in 1:24 nothing blazing but a good tempo and I felt great afterwards.

2/14/12: 8 miles
        I originally had planed to be out the door and running by 4:30 am but my 2 year old son Ty decided to wake up just as I was about to leave. He is such a daddy's boy and was not a happy camper when he saw me heading for the door. In consideration of my pregnant wife since Ty would have really thrown a fit if I left, and the only way for Katie to calm him down is to act like a little puppy to which Ty pats her on the head and curl up next to his "doggy". But that doesn't always work so I decided to take Ty back to bead and sleep with him till the other kids woke up. I did end up running in the afternoon while Ty was down for his nap. I ran from my house to Syringa, did a 5 mile loop on Syringa and ran back home. It was a gorgeous sunny day and was kind of glad I didn't run in the morning darkness because I would have missed the sunshine.

2/15/12: 7 miles
        Great learning experience today. First off I got off work at 2:30am and didn't get to bed till after 3am. Katie tried to let me sleep in but the kids had other plans. What sleep I did get was very unrestful since the kids thought daddy made a great trampling. All I had to eat was a piece of toast ( and very little the night before) when Vern and I met up to run Mickinnick at 11am. I was tired before we even started and about a mile up the trail I felt horrible. I wasn't in any pain just no energy at all, I felt like a snail and kept telling Vern that if he wanted to pass me and go up ahead, that was fine by me. He insisted that my pace was fine and that my horrible day would beat most peoples good day. Up to the 2 mile mark I still had no energy in my legs and I just felt depleted. I tried to get some energy going by eating a gel 25 minutes into the run but it didn't seem to work. From mile 2 to the top I was so tired that I could of curled up on the side of the trail and taken a nap, and if it wasn't for the snow I may have done just that. I did manage to sprint the last 50 yards to the top which felt like a great victory in its own right given how I was feeling. I was very surprised to see our time to the top, right at the one hour mark which was our fastest time to the top all winter, beating our previous best time by 5 minutes. So the lesson learned is that even at your lowest point it is amazing what you can accomplish when you just keep putting one foot in front of the other. I learned how to manage a "low" time which will be help for when I experience those low points during my 50 miler. During the decent I still didn't have the usual bounce in my step but found that I was able to let my legs do their thing as I "fell" down the hill. Vern was much faster on his decent than normal and we hit the bottom in 32 min and 40 sec which was a PR for Vern for any time of the year. He thought the snow helped him run downhill faster because he didn't have to worry so much about his foot placements or falling. Over all despite having a hard time keeping my energy levels up it was a great run and the fastest ascent and decent for either Vern or I on Mickinick this winter.

12/17/12: 20 miles
          Left the house at 5:40 am it had snowed an inch or so in town the previous night, so I ran the first 3 miles to the Mickinnick trail on snow covered roads. When I hit the trail head I attached the Microspikes and headed up the trail. I really tried to pace myself on the accent because I planned on running to the top and back twice as part of my run for the day. I felt pretty good all the way up and the slower pace allowed my to take in gorgeous views of the lake as I climbed higher and higher. The pictures below don't come close to capturing all the vibrant colors of orange, pink and silver of the lake and clouds that morning (hey its a 6 year old point and shot digital camera so it didn't do a horrible job either), it was truly an amazing site for the eyes to behold. The combination of stunning views and listening to the "Last of the Mohicans" sound track really made me forget about the effort it took to run up the trail as I was lost in the splendor of the mountain, lake and inspiring music. I felt the fresh snow slowed me down a little but I reached the top in a respectable 1:09. On the decent I put it in cruise control and made it down in 42 min. Towards the bottom of the trail I passed a man hiking up the trail with his dog as I passed him he asked if I made it to the top which I answered yes, then commented that it "looks like your got a good work out" where I replied yep and told him to have a great day. At the trail head I changed my socks before I attempted my second ascent. One the way back up I passed the man with the dog again where I simple said "round two", He looked shocked to hear and see that I was running to the top and back twice in a row. All he could manage to say was "Holy Sh@!, your tough" through his look of disbelief. His reaction and comment really built my confidence and probably padded my ego a little too. The seconed ascent went better than the first. I did less power hiking and more running on the steep sections than my first ascent and I felt pretty comfortable the whole time but I didn't really push the pace either. I made it to the top in 1:07, two minutes fast than my first ascent which made me pretty happy. Coming down I did start to feel some burning in the quads but nothing to bad just noticeable. Made it back down the mountain is 40 minutes again beating my first attempt. From there I took off the spikes and ran the 3 mile back to the house. The legs felt better after this run than last weeks long run despite doing twice the amount of vertical, which is great sign on how my conditioning and recovery is improving.

2/18/12: 10 miles
       Split today into two running sessions one 5 mile effort on the treadmill before work (5:30am) and one after work (11:00pm). The am session I had some stomach issues and ended up running most of the five miles at a 4% incline at 5 mile and hour for some reason that particular incline and speed gave me the least amount a stomach pain. During the pm session I didn't have and stomach problems and finished in about 40 minutes.

Total Miles: 55

Great week, first full week of training since my ankle injury and I am right on track of where I need to be, according to the training program that I am using. This was also the most running I have ever done in a week, so I am stoked on how well I feel. My legs seem to be in great shape and my endurance is coming right along. Hope this is a good sign of things to come.
                 

Pend Oreille river

No wind made the Lake Pend Oreille into one great big mirror 

My camera couldn't catch how orange and pink the lake and the clouds really were on this morning 

The lake looked like it was made out of pure silver from the top of Mickinnick 

Week 8: Back in the saddle again

2/7/12: 5 miles
      Ran a quick 5 miles (well quick for me under 40 min) After a Chest and arms weight lifting session. Felt good to get a little "speed" training in. Something I haven't been doing a lot of. I have mainly just been working on building a good base or in other words lots of miles but at a slower pace so today it was a nice change of pace. The ankle is feeling better every day and after 10 minutes of running I hardly noticed it.

2/8/12: 7 Miles
      With the ankle feeling a ton better Vern and I decided to tackle Mickinnick today. Vern was kicking my butt on the first 2 miles up the trail. I could tell he was feeling pretty good and he kept rubbing it in my face as he effortlessly cruised up the many switchbacks to the two mile mark.

Vern at the top of Mickinnick Trail

He said it was due to his breakfast of yogurt and granola and just his excitement to be running that day. I really had to put in some effort in to keep up with him. At the two mile mark either he slowed down or I was feeling better (I think it was the later) because I had no problem keeping up with with the rest of the way to the top. We made it to the top in 1:05, which was our fastest time to the top since the trail has been covered with snow. At this point I need to give a big thanks to my dad and Ken for the wonderful trail they blazed last Saturday. It snowed about 12 inches over the last two weeks while I was recovering from my ankle injury. Since Vern nor I had been keeping the trails "packed down" my dad and Ken cut through 12 inches of snow when they hiked Mickinnick on their weekly Saturday hike. They didn't quite make it to the top and the last 400 yards where they hadn't blazed the trail through the snow were much more difficult to traverse than the wide hard-pack trail the two BFF's (best friends forever) had made. So THANK YOU Ken and Dad for the awesome trail you made you guys rock!

On the way down I decide to work on my video taking abilities while running so I shot some film of Vern running. Hopefully you don't get motion sickness when you watch the video, but its pretty hard to get a steady shot when you are running with the camera. At one point on a steep downhill section I had Vern record me coming down. He did a better job filming than me, but that may have been due to the fact that he was just standing in one spot and not running with the camera. After the filming sessions we continued down the trail, I was in the lead as we were coming up on a sharp switchback when a brown blur darted into the trail just feet in front of me. It turned out to be a deer and we were close enough to each other that if I hadn't put on the breaks we would of collided. As I came to a stop I saw some movement 10 yards down hill from us where there were two more deer just standing there trying to figure out what the heck had just happened. The other two deer never spooked and just started eating again around the trail. We were able to get some pictures and videos of the deer for about 5 and 10 minutes before we had to chase them off the trail so we could finish our run. After looking a the pictures and videos there is some debate on what type of deer they are. They have the rear ends and tails of a mule deer but the ears and face of a whitetail and they bounded like a mule deer. My dad thought the were blacktail deer but I've never heard of any blacktail in Idaho. Ken thinks they maybe a cross between a whitetail and a mule deer since he has heard that that has been happening in the Priest river area. Whatever they are it was a pretty cool experience.

2/10/12: 21 miles
       Woke up at 4:30am with the hopes of being out the door by 5am but I had the hardest time getting going (probably due to the fact that I only had slept for 4 hrs). At 5:30am I finally entered into the early morning darkness to start my longest run to date. It was lightly snowing as I ran north on division st towards the Mickinnick trail head which is exactly 3 mile from my front door. Arrived at the trail head just before 6am, there I put on my Microspikes and headed up the trail. Maintained a steady pace up to the second bench (1.5 miles) there I ate a Scout Bar. It was the first and last time I will eat a Scout bar on a run, the taste wasn't bad but it was extremely dry and hard to get down. It also left my mouth chalky for the next ten or so minutes. Just over the 2 mile mark it was light enough were I didn't need the headlamp anymore and by this time it had stopped snowing completely. It was foggy on the mountain so views of the valley below were limited which kinda of sucked since the views on that trail are incredible. Reached the top in 1:06 just a minute slower than Wednesday (2/8). I felt pretty good about that since it was the second fastest time I ran Mickinnick since the trail has been covered in snow. The fog lifted providing spectacular views of the lake and surrounding mountain ranges. I then ate a gel before I headed back down the trail.
Coming down the trail I went slower than normal, mainly because I didn't want to trash my quads less then 10 miles into a 21 mile run. At about a half mile or so from the bottom of the trail I stopped to fill up my water bottles at a beautiful little creek. I don't think there is a time that I haven't stopped at this creek just to take in its beauty and hear the soothing sound of the water as it tumbles down the mountain side. Experiencing the outdoors is one of the main reasons why I love to run trails, so I try to make sure to pause every now and again to take in the ambiance of this beautiful world our Heavenly Father has created. After making it back down I took off the Microspikes, and ate a lemon Larabar which has become one of my favorite solid foods to eat while running (or any time for that matter). From there I ran five miles on the road to the Syringa trail head where I reattached the spikes and ate a gel. I then ran 1.25 miles to the top of the Syringa trail and then did a 2.6 mile loop on the "backside" before running back to the trail head for a total of 5.1 miles. The whole time I was on the backside I sipped from a water bottle that had Hammer Nutrition's Heed in it (basically a 100 calorie drink with fast digesting carbs and electrolytes in it), which I feel really helps me keep a sustained energy level especially towards the end of a long run. Once back at the trail head I took off the spikes and ran the last 1.5 mile back to my house. I had a total running time of 4:24 which was faster than my 18 miler three weeks ago, but this time I didn't have to deal with blazing trail in 10+ inches of fresh snow. Not only was this my longest run so far, but it also had the most vertical ft of any of my runs. I am extremely pleased at where I'm at endurance wise given that I basically took the previous 2 weeks off from running to let my ankle heal. Speaking of the ankle its still not 100% and I had a slight burning sensation for most of the run but every day it keeps on getting better and better despite all the running.                

Total Miles: 33

Very encouraging week, legs a little sore after my long run but were back to normally in a day. I modified my program this week to help get back into running again after two weeks off. I did not run as many days, but I got in a really good long run so next week I should be back to full speed ahead.

At the top of Mickinnick 6.5 mile into my long run

Looking back at the trail from the top of Mickinnick

Early morning on Mickinnick 

Week 7: still healing

1/30/12: 2 miles
       Foot/ankle still not were it needs to be to do any serious running, but I managed to run 2 miles on the treadmill before a chest and arms weight training secession.

1/31/12: 2 miles
       Still playing it safe another 2 miles on the treadmill before a back and shoulders weight lifting secession.

2/2/12: 2miles
      Repeat of Monday (1/30)

2/3/12: 5 Miles
      Finally out of the gym and on the trails. Returned to the scene of the injury Syringa trail and ran 5 miles with Vern. I could feel the ankle with every step, it was a mild burning sensation and depending on what angle my foot hit the ground the burning could get pretty bad. But I was just thankful to be running trails again, getting outside was worth the pain.

2/4/12: 2 miles
      Basically a repeat of Tuesday (1/31) wanted to get out and run but the timing just never happened.

Total Miles: 13

Still over coming the injury to my foot/ankle, but the last few days of the week I saw a lot of improvement. The open wound on the back of my ankle is getting smaller and smaller. I just get a burning sensation whenever something rubs against it (eg. shoe) but the pain is becoming less and less every day. Hoping to just be able to jump right back into my training next week. I think that its a really good possibility that I can.

WEEK SIX: Dealing with the Injury

1/23/12: OFF
       The ankle is really bothering me I can barley walk with a shoe on, but am able to walk fine without a shoe. Went to the gym and did some cycling on a stationary bike without a shoe on and then lifted shoeless for an hour.

1/24/12: 3 miles
       Tried to ascend Mickinnick with Vern today but it didn't go as planned. It started out ok, well at least for the first 200 yards then the foot started hurting do to my shoe rubbing against my ankle but I was going to press on. After a mile up the trail I was in pretty bad shape, the pain in my left foot as made me compensate with my right leg which was killing my right calf since it was doing all the work up the steep sections. I ended up calling it enough at about 1.5 miles up the trail, I could have pushed it to the top but thought it a wiser decision to play it smart and let my ankle heal some more. So I hobbled down the trail to my car as Vern continued up the trail.

1/25/12: Weight training
       I've decided to give the ankle some time to heal so I spent a hour and a half cycling, lifting weights, and using the stair-master all with out shoes. I might not be able to run but still trying to get some cardio in. When I lift I keep the reps high (10-20) and the rest periods low (30-45sec).

1/27/12: At the Gym
       I ran in my socks on the tread mile for 10min then lifted on my legs for and hour. I followed that with 20min on the stair-master.

1/28/12: At the gym
       Ran in socks for 10min then spent 30min on the stair-master and then 30min on the bike.

It was an interesting week the injury to my ankle is slowly getting better but the slow progress is frustrating. I did lift on my legs for the first time this week since starting my ultra training and they are a little sore now, but its a good sore. I'm thinking that I'll be able to start running again next week some time but I'm guessing it will be later in the week. Hopefully I will be able to get back up to seed in my training fast and not loose to much ground. I'll have to tweak my training regiment for the next few weeks but I feel confident that I'll get back on track soon.

Pictures are of sections of the Mickinnick Trail the one day I made it outside these week