Sunday, December 12, 2010

Weekly Summary: Dec 6-12

12-06-2010
Mon-AM: 14 miles (2:04) Green Mt., 3000'
Up back and down NE Ridge-1st Flatiron-Skunk Canyon
PM: 9 miles (1:13) Creek Path
Ran easy with Scottie in the dark. Had to be kinda careful with the calf.

12-07-2010
Tue-AM: 14 miles (2:14) Green Mt. 3000'
Up back and down 1st Flatiron with Joe and Scott. Ran down to 13th St to meet them and then ran to the grocery store at the end to pick up a couple of things. Descended the front of Green with a CU Norwegian Nordic skier who was a bit taken aback at our precipitous route.
PM: 8 miles (1:04) Skunk Creek+3mi barefoot at Kitt
Legs felt surprisingly good.

12-08-2010
Wed-AM: 14 miles (2:05) Green Mt. 3500'
Ran with Joe up Gregory-Long Cyn-West Ridge and then down to the 1st Flatiron/Saddle Rock and then half-way back up Flagstaff on Crown Rocks before descending to EGF and running home.  Gloriously beautiful day but my legs felt pretty terrible.
PM: 11 miles (1:38) Green Mt. 2700'
Up front and down Ranger-Flagstaff Rd all in the dark.  Didn't get out until late and then my pace/effort was pretty severely limited by a dying headlamp battery on both the way up and the way down.  As such, I decided to bail onto the road for the remainder of the descent because my light was so weak.

12-09-2010
Thu-AM: 14 miles (2:11) Green Mt. 3000'
Up Gregory-Greenman and down 1st Flatiron to Saddle Rock+1.5mi barefoot at Kitt.  Legs tired from yesterday's double Green.
PM: 8 miles (1:02) Skunk Creek+3mi barefoot at Kitt
Legs felt great slicing through the dark.

12-10-2010
Fri-AM: 14 miles (2:03) Green Mt. 3000'
Up back and down Bear Cyn.  Another beautiful day, if a bit windy.

12-11-2010
Sat-AM: 24 miles (3:51) Green-Bear-Green, 7000'
Got out for a solo lap around Green and Bear feeling good, but on the summit of Bear I decided the inch of fresh snow was going to make Fern too much of a pain, so I ran back to Chat via the West Ridge and Bear Canyon.  However, I was planning on meeting Dave, Geoff and Bob at Chat for another easy lap on Green, so through Bear Canyon and back on Mesa I injected some legitimate pace into my legs for the first time since I strained the calf (in order to make up for the longer route) and it ended up being a really bad idea.  I felt my calf tighten ever so slightly as we stood around in the parking lot and then on the very easy effort up and down Green it only got worse.  By the end of the run I knew I'd really messed it up good again, so I limped back to the house and spent a lot of the rest of the day icing.

12-12-2010
Sun- zippo.  Calf wouldn't allow it.

Total
-Miles: 130
-Hours: 19h 25min
-Vertical: 25,200'

Boulder Summits (2010)
-Green: 289
-Bear: 29
-SoBo: 6
-----------------------------------------------------------
Well, the story this week is pretty obvious.  I had the calf back to a place where jogging around on it--even up a mountain--was really no issue, but when Saturday rolled around and I inadvertently found myself actually running a decent pace for the first time in a long while, well, my calf protested fairly spectacularly.  It has me pretty bummed, and I'm only a small bit confident that I haven't set it back completely to square one.  All week I guess I'd kind of convinced myself that I was basically healthy, but that was a false confidence on account of the fact that I'd never pushed hard on the calf even the slightest bit all week.

If this doesn't completely rule out the Chubbilooski for me this coming weekend up in Fort Collins, at the very least it means I won't be doing anything but socially jogging around on the Horsetooth terrain.  Certainly nothing even remotely approaching a race-type effort or pace, unfortunately.  At this point I just want to get back to consistent running as quickly and easily as possible.  I'm still kicking myself over the bonehead move of running hard on it for even the shortest of stretches on Saturday.

While I went over 6000 miles on the year some time this week, what I thought to be an exceedingly modest goal at the beginning of the month--300 Green summits on the year--is beginning to look extremely touch-and-go, especially with a trip home to Nebraska planned before the end of the year.

21 comments:

Mark said...

cant help but notice this from your pictures, do you ever wear socks? i cant imagine doing all that mountain running without getting debris and blisters

Brandon Mulnix - Owner Modern Photographics said...

The fact that you run barefoot a couple of times a week is impressive. Do you find it stresses your already sore calf? What shoes are you wearing for most of these miles?

Folk said...

How's Jocelyn's running progressed since her last race? You haven't mentioned running with her for some time. Will she be competing in 2011?

David said...

Calf strains are a pain in the butt (so to speak). They feel better a couple weeks before they actually are healed, so it's easy to push it too hard one day and reset your recovery to day 1. I don't suppose 6 weeks of run-walking while avoiding hills sounds good to you?

Derek Griffiths said...

Tony, Have you tried having Mark P look at your calf yet? Or any ART?

Jason Schlarb said...

Hello Anton!

Thank you.

Rather you realized or not, I have been studying and just recently, applying, your training and subsequent philosophies on long distance mountain running. I’ve been an “Anton Blog Groupie” since about May.
I don’t want to bore you or others too long, but I’m finally coming around in embracing the fact that I am most happy running in the mountains and that I can satiate my need for speed and competition in a rapidly more competitive, popular and available Ultra Trail and Mountain running scene. I don’t think I’ll miss the road.
So after my commitment and goal of running a faster marathon on a not that fast course on Halloween (2:27:18) and doing a cross country race in Italy the week after, I fully embraced your training regimen for a tease of 11 days here in Boulder. While I usually did do weekly long runs for around 2-3hrs on trails in the mountains, this was a huge switch.
I loved every step.
I ran up Green Mtn everyday but two and barefoot afternoon runs 8 of those 11 days. I ran a 30 mile long run, my longest run ever, all over the Boulder front range’s trails, and furthermore, ran 42 miles further than I ever had for any given 7 day period in my life. I was sleeping over 9hrs a day, eating pretty much non-stop and while not running or sleeping, I walked around in a foggy haze of bliss. Perfect.
This indulgence started 20 days before The North Face 50 Mile Championships in San Fran, so physiologically it is debatable rather I gained much and I might have shown up a bit worn from the 145 and 112 mile weeks of mountain climbing bliss just 3 weeks out. BUT, in my mind (psychological), I showed up as an Ultra Trail Runner, not a moderately fast road weenie. I ran my race, believed in myself and surpassed my goals for time and place despite weather and a poor choice in foot wear.
Your training, philosophies and perspectives on running long distances in the mountains, along with the luck of being co-located within 5 miles of each other, has been an unbelievable catalyst and enabler.

Thank you.

Just like the rest of the Ultra community, it was personally deflating to hear about your injury before North Face (and last week’s re-tweak), may your full recovery be quick.

Hope to run into you at this weekend’s run in Fort Collins, on the trails or at least at the PP 50K.

Jason Schlarb
http://jasonschlarb.blogspot.com/

cricri252002 said...

What! You did not allow your body to rest for a week. Why?

Rob Timko said...

Anton --

Great meeting you and everyone on Sat. morning! Bummer about the calf.

Your blog was one of the main reasons we decided to screw the east coast and just spend our vacation in Boulder with the sole focus of running. We've never been here before. It was our first morning and we had a great kickoff to the day meeting you guys, who we live vicariously through via your blogs/trail photos, and we had an awesome run! Going to be a bummer going back to the east coast.

Rob & Laurie

brownie said...

Remember, there's a 7AM start for the slowpokes this Saturday. We don't want to be waiting for you all day...

Anton said...

Derek-Right now any Mark-style intense deep massage would mostly just increase the already ample inflammation, but once the calf calms down again I may look into his services in order to regain some reasonable dorsiflexion range of motion in my lower leg.

Jason--You're the dude that bumped into Scott and I on the BHS turf one morning this fall, yeah? Fantastic ultra debut out in SF and I'm glad my blogging could provide some guidance/inspiration. It's always exciting to see someone new catch the mountain/ultra/trail bug and it seems you've got the right mindset to really find some success in it. Keep in mind that the way I do things is by no means a golden ticket to mountain success--be sure to listen to your body and make sure you're doing the kind of training that is right for you at any given time. I'm sure we'll run in to each other out on the trails sometime soon.

Jason Schlarb said...

Yes, that was me on the track.

Thanks!

I certainly agree with you on there being no one solution to realizing your greatest potential in mountain running... or at any endurance event. I’ve seen this reality at the College level and for marathons, but I was surprised to see the vast range in training for ultras too. Nick Clark really stays in touch with his speed work and at first glance, he seems to keep the mileage amazingly low considering his success at the Wasatch 100, and Western States.

Working hard on long climbs and descents on mountain trails feels the best and is the most fun for me. I do plan on having one day a week dedicated to maintaining my speed and endurance at speed on flatter terrain, maybe even a little work on the evil track from time to time.

Indeed, I’ll see you on the trails soon, somewhere!

Texafornia said...

Thanks for blogging your workouts! It motivated me to start doing the same, and to do it, I had to write down some thoughts after each one. Taking the time to write them down is pure gold! It makes you analyze what you did right or wrong, and then the action of writing them imprints them in your brain far better than not. I've gotten much faster lately because of it. It's a brilliant habit and I appreciate you getting me started on it. Thanks a ton!

Anonymous said...

Anton,
Can you please do something about the crazy long laces that come with the 101s?
Many thanks!

Charlie said...

For a smart guy you can be pretty dumb!

Uzbek said...

What shoes do you most often run with when the snow flies?

Uzbek said...

anton,

I live in the springs area and run on alot of the same trails you have, awesome access isn't it!
Anyway, I have been incrementally adjusting my gait, cadence, and developing a more fore to mid-foot strike. My running has taken off! Thanks for taking the time to do a blog, interview, etc. as it gave me information on how to make this transformation. Maybe see you on the trail someday.
Josh

goSonja said...

Hey Anton.

I've thought about commenting a few times. Now I guess I am! I'm sure you are getting all sorts of suggestions on "who to see" in Boulder and what not.

I thought I would share my guru (I guess we all have ours). His name is Josh Shadle and he owns a little company called TriMassage on 30th above Christy Sports. He mostly works with pro triathletes and my favorite thing about him is his Muscle Restoration (MRT). He teaches me what I need to do when something is non-functional. The MRT is not massage and it doesn't take any recovery.

I don't want to sound lame, but I always walk out feeling better than I went in, his goal is to get rid of pain, and he's good!

Anyways, I hate acting like an advertisement, but every time you write about struggling with something I always think "He needs to see Josh".

Roger Taylor said...

Just out of interest what time do you set out for the 14mile am runs? I'm not really a morning person and everytime I run in the morning I kinda wake up running, which is kind of nice in a way..

sasha said...

i like this blog but where are your
Footwear?

Brian said...

Hi Anton,

Somebody asked about Jocelyn's running a few comments back, but you didn't respond to them. I've been following your blog for sometime now, but posting for the first time. I guess I found myself wondering why there hasn't been a mention of Jocelyn in months too? Not trying to step on a touchy subject(if it is)bro, just find it a bit curious.

best of luck in 2011
Brian

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