Sunday, May 23, 2010

Weekly Summary: May 17-23

(Back to Green this week. Finally, without snow.)

05-17-2010
Mon-AM: 13 miles (2:00) Green Mt. up and down Back, 2800'
Unexpectedly quick 35:55 trip up Gregory-Ranger. 1mi barefoot

05-18-2010
Tue-AM: 13 miles (2:00) Green Mt. up and down Back, 2800'
Got this in early before hopping a plane to CT. 1mi barefoot. 

05-19-2010
Wed-AM: 9 miles (1:03) Roads in Connecticut
After doing the NB group run, tacked on some easy miles with Greg T.  All the humidity, oxygen and foliage made me nostalgic for Nebraska.

05-20-2010
Thu-AM: 9 miles (1:07) Roads in Connecticut
Easy shakeout before flying back home.
PM: 15 miles (2:07) Green Mt. up Front down Back, 2800'
31:29 PR with splits of 6:05 and 17:55.  Stomach was off, which slowed me down a bit. First time I've run this route in a while, so it was good to get back on it. Yesterday's easy day really helped out the knee, too.  3mi barefoot.

05-21-2010
Fri-AM: 14 miles (2:03) Green Mt. up and down Back, 2800'
Pretty sluggish after the late run last night. 2mi barefoot.
PM: 14 miles (2:01) Green Mt. up and down Back, 2800'
Ran at 2pm to start getting some heat training in, ~80F.  Didn't eat enough between runs and I was really bonking the last 20min or so.

05-22-2010
Sat-AM: 15 miles (2:12) Green Mt. up Back down Bear Cyn, 3000'
Legs tired as expected after yesterday.  Already over 80F in the AM.
PM: 8 miles (1:06) Goose Creek+2mi barefoot at Kitt
Ran at 2pm to get some almost 90F heat.

05-23-2010
Sun-AM: 15 miles (2:06) Green Mt. up Front down Bear Cyn, 3000'
Went up the mountain in a surprisingly casual 34:50. Legs still tired.
PM: 8 miles (1:03) Public Library+5mi barefoot at Kitt

Total
-Miles: 133
-Hours: 18h 48min
-Vertical: 20,000'

2010 Summits (Day 143)
Green: 143
Bear: 7
SoBo: 2
---------------------------------------------------------------

It felt really good this week to get back into some respectable schedule of mountain running again.  At some point this week I was descending Green Mt and the distinct feeling that I was in the right place, doing the right thing, living the right way hit me hard and I realized that it's been a long time--almost four weeks--since I've been back in the rhythm of daily running.


(Cruisin' some of the new-ishly-constructed buffed singletrack in Bear Cyn this morning.)

Speaking of rhythm, last week someone asked me in the comments section whether or not I have a coach, especially in light of the fact there he couldn't make out any discernible "rhythm" in my day-to-day and week-to-week running.  The two weeks preceding this one certainly had no such rhythm.  It was all about listening to my body (my knee, specifically) and doing what I thought it could reasonably handle.  Which, come to think about it, is really all that limits my running most of the time.  I can definitely feel a rhythm in my day-to-day running when the training is going really well. 

During the build-up for Miwok my running generally fell into a pattern of: Monday & Tuesday, go easy and recover from the weekend; Wednesday and Thursday, hit a little bit more vertical and push the climbs if my body was feeling like it; Friday, easy day; Saturday and Sunday, big volume days with tons of vertical and an especially long run on Saturday.  Repeat.  Of course, this was all in the context of running up Green Mt every day--even easy days--but my fitness has progressed to the point where I can maintain volume and vertical while twiddling with the intensity knob on any given day to produce variability in the day-to-day output.

However, the most important thing is that there is no set "pattern" in my running, by design.  That is intentional.  I would rather let each new day's conditions and unique levels of fatigue dictate what I do than begin each and every week with a set-in-stone idea of what I want to accomplish.  Keep it simple.  Cultivate the activities that make you tick.  Don't overthink the details or the highs and lows, because tomorrow the mountain will always still be there, just waiting to be run up again.

Unlike my running, I think this has a rhythm that can be appreciated:

22 comments:

wiglebot said...

Maybe off topic -- I am a bit old-school with lots of Cold Play and about 200GB of electronica. My Indie collection is mellow stuff -- singer songwriter or solo guitar. But you have slowly turned me into a indie pop/punk fan. Yeasayer is good stuff.

Frank Bott said...

Tony,
when i run at night.. i run past the "Gray Eagle".. i make it a point.. to lean against the old brick wall.. and feel the energy of music as it screams inside.. music is amazing.

http://www.thegreyeagle.com/

keep an eye on the knee..

i like you .. enjoy a bit of random to my training..

as for your contribution to NB.. i have seen it... felt it and really appreciate what you have given.. thanks.

frank

Charlie said...

Tony, glad to hear the knee is getting better. I suppose you must be in two minds over WS given your knee will probably be shot again after that race.

Tough decision; race and risk the summer being injured or dont race, run all summer, but then be wondering what might have been.

John said...

You recently mention Green Mt. fitting its name. It ought to have your name!

Scott McMurtrey said...

Can't believe your hitting those temps in CO already. I woke up to frost on my windshield yesterday morning up here in WA.

Glad the knee's feeling strong.

Great clip - I like their sound.

Charlie said...

Hi Tony,
I see you are registered to run Barr Trail Race in July. I hope I will have an opportunity to shake your hand. Been reading your blog now for about 3 years. I'll be coming in from Oklahoma for the race and proceeding week of vacation with extended family that live out there. I know you have run extensively in that area over the last several years and I am curious as to what 7-9am temperatures are like at the Cog station as well as Barr Camp. Would a singlet and perhaps some sleeves for the higher elevations be prudent? Jacket? or would that be overkill? Good to see you've bounced back from Miowk. Looking forward to reading about the rest of your summer.

GZ said...

Not to steal any of Tony's thunder but the last few years when I have run this - it is pretty warm at those times. No extra clothing necessary in my opinion.

Anton said...

Charlie,

GZ is right--it's usually downright hot in Manitou in July (90s) and a singlet or t-shirt or no shirt does just fine up at Barr Camp at 10,200'.

Charlie said...

Thank you GZ and Anton. I'm uber excited about Barr. It will be tough on me no doubt and I'll probably be fighting just to earn a t-shirt, but I have a feeling it will be a blast either way.

Mark Cafiero said...

Hey - I run Green Mountain 3 days a week. Last week I saw you twice and both days I went home and told my girlfriend about the only other person I saw on the trail - a guy with this beard and long hair.

Today, out of curiosity I was checking out some YouTube footage of the Leadville 100 and saw that guy that I keep seeing on Green mountain. Apparently it's you - nice!

Back when I lived in Boulder I ran Sanitas pretty regularly but have fell in love with Green Mountain. I get up at 5:30AM and drive all the way out to Chautauqua with my dog (the HUGE doberman you have probably seen with me).

Anyway, I am impressed with your times. 30-some minutes is incredible. I have always wondered how fast you made it up. As for me, I'm a heavy 200 lb runner, can't seem to get much lower, even with a strict diet. Frustrating, but I am proud to make it to the top in 56 minutes.

Anyway, strong work, I bookmarked your blog, very inspiring!

Mark

P.S. Are you running the Vail Pass Half next week? I'm planning on it.

Later!

Scott said...

Don't know if you can divulge this info or if it is strictly classified, but where in the world is Kyle Skaggs? Haven't heard anything about him for a long time.

Luke said...

Tony,
I was just reading your blogpost on Runningtimes.com and really appreciated your insight on running and racing. You mentioned that a neuroma stopped you from running for nearly a whole season, what did you do to bring it around? I am currently struggling with a neuroma and would really appreciate any advice you might have. You could email me at lukenelson@me.com if you have a chance. Thanks and good luck with the knee and at Western!

Brian Lichi said...

Tony, name's Brian, Australian runner, definately think your efforts are amazing.

Just relaised your musical taste are leaning towards mine and was wondering if you've heard of bands such as "two door cinema club", "mumford and sons" and "jonsi". give them a look. Hope all goes well with training for WS.

Anton said...

Mark- Yep, that's me...probably won't be in Vail, but I've thought about it.

Scott-Kyle's just passionately pursuing other interests right now; namely, throwing all his energy into operating his own organic farm.

Luke-sorry, but that neuroma responded to basically nothing. I tried everything short of cortisone and surgery (wider shoes, two months COMPLETELY off, ultrasound, doctors of osteopathy, etc.), until it finally just gradually went away on its own in mid-September of that year. Good luck getting healthy.

Brian--I've listened to two door cinema club and jonsi; I'll look into mumford and sons. thanks for the tip.

Pete Rodrigues said...

well, now, life's complete. You've got the quote of the day on Letsrun. Nice interview on competitor. Good Luck at WS.

Logan Polfuss said...

Hey Anton im just wondering where would you say is the best city/state to train in the summer time. Really the most beautiful which has the most trails and high elevation i was thinking Boulder but it looks like you travel all over and i think youd know the best place. I dont mind the heat that much actually enjoy it mostly

Unknown said...

Hey. Just got back from Green Mountain and saw you running up at a faster pace than I was getting going down! Looking good. It is inspiring to see one of the greats out there. Hope the knee continues to improve.

Anton said...

Logan,
It all depends on personal preference. I wouldn't really call Boulder "high elevation". It's certainly beautiful here, but there isn't a ton of variety to the trails. But don't get me wrong, I really like it. I also really like Flagstaff, though, too: huge variety of trails ranging from desert red rock down in Sedona to ponderosa forest right in town with ample vertical and alpine singletrack available in the San Francisco Peaks. Plus, the Grand Canyon is only 90min away, which is a whole different world.

dkhawk,
Beautiful morning, eh? The knee was feeling great today.

Unknown said...

Anton, really good interview for competitor. Enjoyed it a lot and was inspired to look into "Running to the Top"; just ordered it at a local bookstore. It sounds like it made a huge impression on you. Also, curious about these new NB shoes you mentioned; they sound just right.

And, last comment, Yeasayer. Man, I like that song Tightrope. A lot. I'm the kind of guy that would tell my friends only half joking that no bands formed after 1998 are worth listening to. But now I've been playing this one Yeasayer song several times a day. The only thing is I haven't found more songs that feel the same way this one feels (by them). The other songs are still good, but this one... Man... Fantastic.

Kikolu said...

Anton,

In a post based in 2007 about minimalistic shoes you tell that you cut the heel of the sportivas off. I have that shoe, too. Now, how do I gonna make it? Cut the heel off? I mean, then the outsole is even off? right?

What do wear in wintertimes, keeping the minimalistic approach up?

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