This morning was a simple Time Trial to 1st Water. I woke up feeling good and finally recovered from last weekend. Today I decided to try something different, and took music with me... something I've never done on the Mt. Wilson Trail.
There were about 25 of us in total, with maybe 6-8 beginners. Parker immediately took off, being chased by one of Shannon's racers, and I fell in to a steady pace. I wasn't passed by any of the beginners, but the intermediates started catching me by the trail head... perfectly expected.
I loved using the music! It completely distracted my head and helped set a tempo I could sustain. I passed countless hikers on the way up (and down) and for the most part found them all courteous and willing to let me pass.
It took until the switchbacks for Corlyn and Navin to catch me... both were obviously not yet recovered from another training session. Good for me because I set them as rabbits to chase.
I reached 1st Water in 37:42, 5:00 minutes ahead of my last two 42:00 time trials and only 1:42 behind my best time from 2009. Talk about a pleasant surprise! That motivated me so well, that I pealed out of 1st Water like my tail was on fire. I caught up with Corlyn, Navin, Shannon and Carrie at the switchbacks, but when we got to the other side the only one I was able to actually pass was Carrie. (Although she made it very clear that if I wasn't very careful, she would be passing me again as soon as we hit the road!) The rest of the pulled away again... I know for Shannon, the whole idea of Roadkill catching her was the perfect motivation to make sure it didn't happen! Too funny.
I caught Corlyn again right when we hit the road. She is such a fabulous teammate, she immediately set in to motivate me to the top of the hill and to catch Navin on Baldwin... then she led by example and took off like her tail way on fire! I did my best to keep up but those two are seriously fast when they decide to race. So, instead I just raced like Carrie was hot on my heels! It totally worked... finish time: 59:06 That's 10:00 minutes ahead of my last time trial and only 1:06 behind my best time from 2009.
I'm telling you aspiring bastards... if you can make the team and hang on through the training sessions no matter how much they suck, you WILL get faster too. You just have to be willing to pay your dues, no matter how long it takes.
Today's results combined with last weekend are leaving me more optimistic about the AB Qualifier in two weeks. I'm still a long way away from confident about making the team without Kendall pacing me again, but I'm getting closer... :-)
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Thursday, March 28, 2013
"I'd Hate to See One of You Killed..."
Seriously! That came out of some bozo's mouth who didn't like it that a few of us were apparently traveling on a private road. (One of my teammates has confirmed that we were never on private property, so I really haven't any idea where this guy got off with the attitude.) It was all I could do to not take it to the next level and insist that he tell me exactly what he was threatening. But, I restrained myself, knowing that we would likely cross his path again some day and it would probably be better to not become a memorable enemy. Here's the back story...
BASTARDS! Tonight's 6:30pm practice will commence at Monrovia's Library Park by the Fountain...there will be a little tactical insertion, escape, and evasion tonight...dress appropriately. AS WELL...there will be NO follow-on meeting this evening. You are more than encouraged to gather still at your favorite watering hole and partake in a few adult beverages; however, there is no meeting. Enjoy your evening...
I was seriously considering not going tonight; it's been a hard week and my head was in a pretty crappy place all afternoon. Then I overheard Eric giving the route information to one of the back up leaders... We were going to be starting at the fountain, running up Clamshell and out Cloverleaf and it would take 6-7 miles. (I mapped it at 6 miles exactly)
Knowing what was in store almost cinched my bailout. I knew from the last time we were on Clamshell that it was going to be a Roadkill Nightmare, with me pulling the rear and my teammates having to wait for me. I knew it was going to be long and that I was still not fully recovered from last weekend. (On a side note, today was also the first day I've trained all week, first attending a CrossFit Z1 class, then tonight's run)
BUT, I also knew that trail running is my favorite way to get out of myself, and that if any of our red team members showed up, they might actually be grateful to have Roadkill on the run, since it makes for an easier run on everyone but RK. So, at 5:30 I made the decision to just show up and give it my best shot.
My best shot was pretty damn weak tonight. I walked a good percentage of the second and third miles which were all climbs. Since I was teamed with Kathy, our only other red member there tonight, it meant she needed to hold back and stay with me. The rest of the teams took off and we didn't see any of them again until Mark stopped and waited for us at the entry gate to Clamshell. Mark was waiting because his team wasn't sure Kathy and I would know how to access the connector. So, his whole team slowly jogged and walked Clamshell giving me enough time to not get left too far behind.
Between my bad attitude and my crappy performance so far, I was seriously considering breaking the cardinal rule and turning back at the connector. Then I finally rounded the corner and saw the connector path and all my friend's smiling faces and heard all their encouraging words. Something shifted and I let go of all the baggage I'd been carrying so far. Off fell the negativity, off fell the burdens of the day and thankfully off fell all desire to quit.
I'm so grateful for the shift in perspective, because the rest of the run was an absolute blast. The "connector" is really just a single track, overgrown goat path that is crazy steep in most areas. Erik and Dawn led the way, with Rocky showing us an alternate mode of travel... bootie scooting, then came Kathy, RK and Mark brought up the rear. Good thing their team had stayed with us, because Kathy and I probably wouldn't have braved such a maniac trail. Once we were on it and committed, I realized it actually looked a lot worse than it really was and turned out to be a ton of fun to traverse!
Once we got to the bottom, we dropped on to Cloverleaf and just ran the dirt road to the end... which was where we encountered Mr. Vigilante with the serious anti-social tendencies. No doubt he was making idle threats, but it made for good running banter as we made out way back in to civilization... Just how was he planning to kill us anyway? Shot gun? Landmine? Ooohhh... maybe an ambush and he and his wife and daughter would push us all off a cliff???? Bizarre, and while laughable it's also something to remember if we ever find ourselves in the area again.
One last comment on my hysterical team... As we were running downhill heading toward Foothill, we passed a house with a very angry sounding dog, and the next thing I know one of our guys is sprinting right by me... WTH? Oh right, he doesn't need to outrun a mad dog, he just needs to outrun Roadkill! Welcome to yet one more peril of being the Arrogant Bastards Slowest Team Member... Mad Dog Fodder. (sigh, lol)
BASTARDS! Tonight's 6:30pm practice will commence at Monrovia's Library Park by the Fountain...there will be a little tactical insertion, escape, and evasion tonight...dress appropriately. AS WELL...there will be NO follow-on meeting this evening. You are more than encouraged to gather still at your favorite watering hole and partake in a few adult beverages; however, there is no meeting. Enjoy your evening...
I was seriously considering not going tonight; it's been a hard week and my head was in a pretty crappy place all afternoon. Then I overheard Eric giving the route information to one of the back up leaders... We were going to be starting at the fountain, running up Clamshell and out Cloverleaf and it would take 6-7 miles. (I mapped it at 6 miles exactly)
Knowing what was in store almost cinched my bailout. I knew from the last time we were on Clamshell that it was going to be a Roadkill Nightmare, with me pulling the rear and my teammates having to wait for me. I knew it was going to be long and that I was still not fully recovered from last weekend. (On a side note, today was also the first day I've trained all week, first attending a CrossFit Z1 class, then tonight's run)
BUT, I also knew that trail running is my favorite way to get out of myself, and that if any of our red team members showed up, they might actually be grateful to have Roadkill on the run, since it makes for an easier run on everyone but RK. So, at 5:30 I made the decision to just show up and give it my best shot.
My best shot was pretty damn weak tonight. I walked a good percentage of the second and third miles which were all climbs. Since I was teamed with Kathy, our only other red member there tonight, it meant she needed to hold back and stay with me. The rest of the teams took off and we didn't see any of them again until Mark stopped and waited for us at the entry gate to Clamshell. Mark was waiting because his team wasn't sure Kathy and I would know how to access the connector. So, his whole team slowly jogged and walked Clamshell giving me enough time to not get left too far behind.
Between my bad attitude and my crappy performance so far, I was seriously considering breaking the cardinal rule and turning back at the connector. Then I finally rounded the corner and saw the connector path and all my friend's smiling faces and heard all their encouraging words. Something shifted and I let go of all the baggage I'd been carrying so far. Off fell the negativity, off fell the burdens of the day and thankfully off fell all desire to quit.
I'm so grateful for the shift in perspective, because the rest of the run was an absolute blast. The "connector" is really just a single track, overgrown goat path that is crazy steep in most areas. Erik and Dawn led the way, with Rocky showing us an alternate mode of travel... bootie scooting, then came Kathy, RK and Mark brought up the rear. Good thing their team had stayed with us, because Kathy and I probably wouldn't have braved such a maniac trail. Once we were on it and committed, I realized it actually looked a lot worse than it really was and turned out to be a ton of fun to traverse!
Once we got to the bottom, we dropped on to Cloverleaf and just ran the dirt road to the end... which was where we encountered Mr. Vigilante with the serious anti-social tendencies. No doubt he was making idle threats, but it made for good running banter as we made out way back in to civilization... Just how was he planning to kill us anyway? Shot gun? Landmine? Ooohhh... maybe an ambush and he and his wife and daughter would push us all off a cliff???? Bizarre, and while laughable it's also something to remember if we ever find ourselves in the area again.
One last comment on my hysterical team... As we were running downhill heading toward Foothill, we passed a house with a very angry sounding dog, and the next thing I know one of our guys is sprinting right by me... WTH? Oh right, he doesn't need to outrun a mad dog, he just needs to outrun Roadkill! Welcome to yet one more peril of being the Arrogant Bastards Slowest Team Member... Mad Dog Fodder. (sigh, lol)
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Run Random Stranger Run!
...was written on one of a dozen signs being waived in our faces as we crested the peak at mile eight. We could hear these same girls back at mile 6 screaming at the top of their lungs. Their cheering and enthusiasm was a perfect culmination to the hardest part of the course... all down hill from here, at least almost.
This morning, three Bastards, a (censored) soon to be Bastard, along with a few other friends, descended on the City of Agoura for my favorite trail race, the Great Race of Agoura's Cheesbro Half Marathon. It was spectacular weather again this year... as it has been for all four years that I've participated in this race, and the year before when I ran the 5k.
The race begins at 7am, so we were on the road by 5am and picking up our bibs by 6am... It wasn't even light out yet, and this morning was in the low 30's. Made for lots of whining on all our parts, but we we back in the car with our bibs with 20 minutes to thaw out before the race began. By the time we left the car, it was in the mid 40's and climbing quickly.
We were all wearing our uniforms with a long sleeve to get us through the first 5k. Amy was so funny, she had picked up a second hand jacket that she wore until race start, then dropped it on the ground, donating it back again... what a great idea!
Speaking of Amy, our Arrogant Bastard judge has amazing initiative... none of us had our phones with us, and couldn't take photos... so Amy asked a stranger to photo us and text her the shot, and the gal did!
The race consists of a slowly climbing 5k on the roads, leading in the park, followed by 4 miles of rolling bridal trails, then a mile of climbing, then two miles of almost unbroken descent, ending with another road 5k with a nice easy descent...
At the start, Corlyn and Amy took off, Rose and I stuck together, and Carmen and Michelle were behind us. The first 5k was easy and a lovely warm up. At mile 4 I started to feel my left ankle acting up, and it only go worse, and worse, and worse. I tried loosening the lace, but it didn't help. I'll check with Eric next week, but I think it might be a shin splint. I know it felt better when I focused on my technique, making sure to land ball-to-heel, but overall it wasn't making much difference. The weird part was I've not had any trouble with this foot/ankle for at least a month now.
For the first 9 miles, Rose and I played a game of Indian Running. She'd pass me, then I'd pass her, all good fun AND lightyears ahead of where I was last year, when she dusted me at mile 4. This was even with me taking a fall at mile 5 and again at mile 7. (My next tattoo is going to say "PICK UP YOUR FEET!") It seems 36 hours isn't quite enough recovery for me before running a half marathon, and maybe I should have gone a little easier on the Thursday night hike. Oh well, no use second guessing.
Bottom line Results:
Corlyn 2:02 (First time on the course, BAD ASS TIME!!)
Amy 2:28 (Nice time considering it's been five years since she ran this race)
Rose 2:33 (6:00 PR)
Roadkill 2:35 (23:00 faster than last year, but still 20:00 behind 2009 PR)
(Carmen and Michelle were in it for completion, so I've not recorded their times)
(Carmen and Michelle were in it for completion, so I've not recorded their times)
Oh, and before we all went our separate ways, The Judge had her way with another stranger!
Friday, March 22, 2013
Recovery Hike? Hmm...
Feel's like forever since I last blogged. I'm such a creature of habit, that even skipping one day feels like a complete break in routine...
For a quick catch-up:
Monday - CrossFit
Tuesday - CrossFit and no AB practice as Eric's suggestion knowing that it was going to be an Academy WOD
Wednesday - CrossFit that has my gluts still tender... 1&1/4 Front Squats, Low Bar Good mornings and 200 Russian KBS w/53#. It was an AWESOME training session... full of excellent coaching, powerful new movements, skill work and an opportunity at the end to test my KBS limit.
Thursday - No CrossFit, chose to sleep in a little longer since I have a half marathon on Saturday. Coach surprised me by telling me to make sure I showed up for practice. Good thing he had too, as I'd planned to take the night off. SO, GLAD I DIDN'T!
Bastards! Tonight's quick and dirty jaunt through the wilderness will begin at 6:30pm at Chantry Flats. Please bring your Adventure Passes, headlamps, and trail shoes. RSVP in comments...
As I was driving up Santa Anita I started receiving texts from Coach. He was stuck at the Academy preparing for the Maltz Challenge first thing Friday morning...
"Hey... you're hiking a 25 min. Out/back Upper Winter Creek"
Sounded great to me! I love hiking that section of the Hoegee's Loop. It's not overly steep, allows lots of views into the valley and is easy to run back down... oh and no water crossings.
"Help Dave O administer a Hoegee's Loop for the rest of the crew. They are headed "down" first."
Sounded like great fun, we'd all meet somewhere in the middle.
"You'll basically walk/jog until they run past you."
Dave and I decided to make a game of it... first runner to pass Roadkill wins but they all had to race it because Roadkill wasn't supposed to go more than 25 minutes up the mountain. Ha!
Result? I had the glorious pleasure of jogging/hiking my way up Upper Winter Creek Trail while the sun was setting. I made it a lot farther than I expected. (maybe 2 miles in) I had finished the climb and was starting down to the fork before the first runners caught me... Tom & Monty of course! Those two cruised by me like they had been jogging on flat land, not a heavy breath or drop of sweat between them. I love our racers, they display what I aspire towards!
I slowly walked for a bit longer while the rest of the runners went by, and when I caught the headlamps of the last of my teammates, I turned around and started running home... hoping I'd be able to stay ahead of them. Not a chance. Kathy and Lynn passed me within half a mile of our descent, forcing me to pick up my pace or get left in the pitch dark on the mountain with all of the lions, tigers and bears.. Oh My!
While I say that laughing, I really did pick up my pace to not let them get away from me. First because I didn't want the team to have to wait for me and second because it was completely dark at that point and while I felt safe running alone, it's not smart in case of mishap.
OMG, it was so much fun trying to keep those girls from getting away! Granted they weren't running super fast in the dark either, but it was great fun chasing them and winning because they never got away from me.
As for today... my gluts are thanking me for the hike, because it loosened them back up very nicely after Wednesday's glut intensive. Granted it probably wouldn't be called a recovery hike, but it was still the perfect prep for tomorrow's Great Race of Agoura Half Marathon!
Time for bed. G'night peeps!
For a quick catch-up:
Monday - CrossFit
Tuesday - CrossFit and no AB practice as Eric's suggestion knowing that it was going to be an Academy WOD
Wednesday - CrossFit that has my gluts still tender... 1&1/4 Front Squats, Low Bar Good mornings and 200 Russian KBS w/53#. It was an AWESOME training session... full of excellent coaching, powerful new movements, skill work and an opportunity at the end to test my KBS limit.
Thursday - No CrossFit, chose to sleep in a little longer since I have a half marathon on Saturday. Coach surprised me by telling me to make sure I showed up for practice. Good thing he had too, as I'd planned to take the night off. SO, GLAD I DIDN'T!
Bastards! Tonight's quick and dirty jaunt through the wilderness will begin at 6:30pm at Chantry Flats. Please bring your Adventure Passes, headlamps, and trail shoes. RSVP in comments...
As I was driving up Santa Anita I started receiving texts from Coach. He was stuck at the Academy preparing for the Maltz Challenge first thing Friday morning...
"Hey... you're hiking a 25 min. Out/back Upper Winter Creek"
Sounded great to me! I love hiking that section of the Hoegee's Loop. It's not overly steep, allows lots of views into the valley and is easy to run back down... oh and no water crossings.
"Help Dave O administer a Hoegee's Loop for the rest of the crew. They are headed "down" first."
Sounded like great fun, we'd all meet somewhere in the middle.
"You'll basically walk/jog until they run past you."
Dave and I decided to make a game of it... first runner to pass Roadkill wins but they all had to race it because Roadkill wasn't supposed to go more than 25 minutes up the mountain. Ha!
Result? I had the glorious pleasure of jogging/hiking my way up Upper Winter Creek Trail while the sun was setting. I made it a lot farther than I expected. (maybe 2 miles in) I had finished the climb and was starting down to the fork before the first runners caught me... Tom & Monty of course! Those two cruised by me like they had been jogging on flat land, not a heavy breath or drop of sweat between them. I love our racers, they display what I aspire towards!
I slowly walked for a bit longer while the rest of the runners went by, and when I caught the headlamps of the last of my teammates, I turned around and started running home... hoping I'd be able to stay ahead of them. Not a chance. Kathy and Lynn passed me within half a mile of our descent, forcing me to pick up my pace or get left in the pitch dark on the mountain with all of the lions, tigers and bears.. Oh My!
While I say that laughing, I really did pick up my pace to not let them get away from me. First because I didn't want the team to have to wait for me and second because it was completely dark at that point and while I felt safe running alone, it's not smart in case of mishap.
OMG, it was so much fun trying to keep those girls from getting away! Granted they weren't running super fast in the dark either, but it was great fun chasing them and winning because they never got away from me.
As for today... my gluts are thanking me for the hike, because it loosened them back up very nicely after Wednesday's glut intensive. Granted it probably wouldn't be called a recovery hike, but it was still the perfect prep for tomorrow's Great Race of Agoura Half Marathon!
Time for bed. G'night peeps!
Monday, March 18, 2013
To The Rope With You!
Saturday morning was another Mt. Wilson time trial, this one to The Rope. I checked my training history from 2009 and don't have a time recorded for that time trial, so I must have missed that session. Drat. I love having historical data to compare against because it tells me where I stand against myself, the only person who really matters. Oh well.
It was a perfectly gorgeous morning for a climb... cold and foggy, at least for the first mile. We had a good sized group, even with the beginners we had Parker, Sachiko, Kelley, Joanne, Dick and Carmen. Dick started a few minutes ahead of us. I started next to Sach, with Kelley and Pam right behind us. Parker passed us all long before we hit Mira Monte and Sach pulled away from my right before we turned the corner. I caught up with Dick right about the stairs, the same place Kelley and her friend Pam passed me. Dick is such a strong climber, I wasn't able to keep up and they all slowly pulled away from me. That was it from our group, the only ones who passed me on the rest of the way up were the intermediate and advanced runners.
As I was nearing the switchbacks, I was passed by the Baker to Vegas crew, all very intent on racing hard. I paused for a moment, realizing that we had risen to full sunlight and when I looked to the right, the valley was completely covered, it was a really beautiful sight. I called out to those around me to stop and look around them, but of course... it was a time trial, so no one looked. Too funny.
The rest of the way to First Water was just long, warm and uneventful. But, it was really quite humorous, as I was climbing from First Water to the Rope... I kept seeing the same faces back and forth (the other teams were running penalty repeats)... Made me joke that I was stuck in some Mt. Wilson Trail Race nightmare where I'm being forever looped by other runners.
I passed First Water at 42:30, (which was the exact time it took me two weeks ago), and hit The Rope in 51:11. I touched the rope, immediately turned, and started running. I was wearing trail shoes, but not my good ones, and I could feel my traction wasn't great, which kept me more conservative than I would have liked. It didn't take me too long to pass Dick on the way down, then I caught Kelley, who decided to try and keep up with me, at least until my left foot almost slipped off the trail when I was trying to dodge a hiker in the middle of the trail... creepy, but I didn't give it the energy to create fear and just kept running, with a strong focus and awareness of my shoes. I crossed the line at 1:20, 7 minutes behind Sachiko and about 2 minutes ahead of Kelley.
Afterwards, Dave, Joanne, Carmen and I went to Fresco's for breakfast... way to far overpriced for all of our meals. Last time we'll be eating there. On a more positive note Dave, Joanne, and I found some wonderful common ground in the world of nurseries... ah the fabulous dreams we share!
BTW... I couldn't find any photos of The Rope (and of course I don't carry my iphone on a time trial!), but I did find this super cool picture of the trail maintenance crew making things right after the devastation from the 2009 fire. It just brings home the fact that these are OUR trails and WE need to ALL help maintain them. Next trail maintenance day is this Sunday 3/24... come out and join us! Email Pete Sieberell the Race Director to let him know you'll be there... pete.siberell@santaanita.com
It was a perfectly gorgeous morning for a climb... cold and foggy, at least for the first mile. We had a good sized group, even with the beginners we had Parker, Sachiko, Kelley, Joanne, Dick and Carmen. Dick started a few minutes ahead of us. I started next to Sach, with Kelley and Pam right behind us. Parker passed us all long before we hit Mira Monte and Sach pulled away from my right before we turned the corner. I caught up with Dick right about the stairs, the same place Kelley and her friend Pam passed me. Dick is such a strong climber, I wasn't able to keep up and they all slowly pulled away from me. That was it from our group, the only ones who passed me on the rest of the way up were the intermediate and advanced runners.
As I was nearing the switchbacks, I was passed by the Baker to Vegas crew, all very intent on racing hard. I paused for a moment, realizing that we had risen to full sunlight and when I looked to the right, the valley was completely covered, it was a really beautiful sight. I called out to those around me to stop and look around them, but of course... it was a time trial, so no one looked. Too funny.
The rest of the way to First Water was just long, warm and uneventful. But, it was really quite humorous, as I was climbing from First Water to the Rope... I kept seeing the same faces back and forth (the other teams were running penalty repeats)... Made me joke that I was stuck in some Mt. Wilson Trail Race nightmare where I'm being forever looped by other runners.
I passed First Water at 42:30, (which was the exact time it took me two weeks ago), and hit The Rope in 51:11. I touched the rope, immediately turned, and started running. I was wearing trail shoes, but not my good ones, and I could feel my traction wasn't great, which kept me more conservative than I would have liked. It didn't take me too long to pass Dick on the way down, then I caught Kelley, who decided to try and keep up with me, at least until my left foot almost slipped off the trail when I was trying to dodge a hiker in the middle of the trail... creepy, but I didn't give it the energy to create fear and just kept running, with a strong focus and awareness of my shoes. I crossed the line at 1:20, 7 minutes behind Sachiko and about 2 minutes ahead of Kelley.
Afterwards, Dave, Joanne, Carmen and I went to Fresco's for breakfast... way to far overpriced for all of our meals. Last time we'll be eating there. On a more positive note Dave, Joanne, and I found some wonderful common ground in the world of nurseries... ah the fabulous dreams we share!
BTW... I couldn't find any photos of The Rope (and of course I don't carry my iphone on a time trial!), but I did find this super cool picture of the trail maintenance crew making things right after the devastation from the 2009 fire. It just brings home the fact that these are OUR trails and WE need to ALL help maintain them. Next trail maintenance day is this Sunday 3/24... come out and join us! Email Pete Sieberell the Race Director to let him know you'll be there... pete.siberell@santaanita.com
Friday, March 15, 2013
Realistic Goals and a Stop Watch
Today's a good day for a little more depth...
First, I'm going to be hiking the Grand Canyon on the same weekend at Fountain to Falls. Not a big deal since it's just a community race and used by our team as final prep for Mt. Wilson. Speak of the devil... I am hiking the Grand Canyon rim to rim, one week before Mt. Wilson, in weather likely to reach the 90's in the basin and 30's on the north rim. It is going to be a long, hot (and maybe cold) and hard 20 miles. So what. I will still have almost a full week to recover before the race. I am willing to risk participating in the event even though I'm running Mt. Wilson because I have let go of the pressure of achieving a specific time hack on the race.
Last year when I first started to run again after two years off, I made the decision to run Mt. Wilson in 2013 and I set the goal to match my 1:51 time from 2009. Over the year I realized just how much ground I had lost by not running, but I still didn't question the goal. Then I joined the Arrogant Bastards in January 2013 and I increased my intention to not only meet my old time, but beat it... 1:49. That's how much ignorant faith I had in just being an Arrogant Bastard.
Then February rolls around with the Saturday specificity training and I am humbled and disappointed to find myself unable to hit the time hacks necessary to even train with the intermediate group... and I realized that I had set a completely unrealistic goal for the 2013 race. Yes, I know that 2013 is Coach's 10th year and that it is a HUGE year for him and our team as a whole. Yes, I know that our team goal is to shower him with medals. Yet, I also know that even if I made the 1:49 I would still be nowhere near medal contention for my age bracket. So I have let it go. That's doesn't mean I'm not going to race hard, it simply means that I am no longer making my results in this race a primary goal.
Instead, the Grand Canyon's time has come... someplace I've never seen and always wanted to hike. As for Mt. Wilson... by 2014 I will be fully prepared for the challenge!
So, on to last night's training... it's been a long hard week of training and yesterday morning I opted out of joining the CrossFit class, preferring to save it for the Bastards. It didn't help, I was still not fully recovered by last night and got almost completely smashed by my group.
BASTARDS! Reminder...tonight after speed-work (7:45pm) we'll be heading over to Matt Denny's Alehouse in Arcadia (the location of our last business meeting) for the St. Baldricks Festival. Please bring a clean shirt (for after practice) preferably an Arrogant Bastard Jersey or red AB T-shirt. RSVP here so Beth Butterfield can see please.
Thinking we had another conventional track night ahead, I brought my stop watch. Which created a whole new opportunity for Eric and teammates to tease Roadkill. I need TWO time pieces??? Yes, I admit it, I do wear a wrist watch with a stop watch feature, but on track work, I still prefer a traditional stop watch. My aging eyes can see the time at a glance while running and rarely screw up on the buttons, unlike when using my watch... which I can screw up quite easily.
Coach had created a new game called TRAIL (similar to HORSE in basketball if that's helpful) and to be competitive you needed to be paired with like fitness. A challenge for Roadkill, but thankfully, a number of our Red Team members showed up and I was able to run the game alternating between Kathy, Lynn and Maggie.
Our team races were: 400m, 300m, 200m, 100m, 50m. I won the 300m but lost the rest. Funniest story was Lynn, who hung in the back for the 400, 300 and 200, then caught us all completely off guard with her launch and speed on the 100. Awesome job teammate! As for Roadkill, my legs are smoked and I am very grateful that today is my rest day... and NO I did not do CrossFit Open 13.2 Are you crazy? I have a Ropes time trial tomorrow morning!
After we were done training, a bunch of us showed up at St Baldrick's to cheer on friends shaving their heads to support the cure for childhood cancer. We got there just in time to catch our teammates! Beth is still my hero even if I'm not willing to do what she does...
First, I'm going to be hiking the Grand Canyon on the same weekend at Fountain to Falls. Not a big deal since it's just a community race and used by our team as final prep for Mt. Wilson. Speak of the devil... I am hiking the Grand Canyon rim to rim, one week before Mt. Wilson, in weather likely to reach the 90's in the basin and 30's on the north rim. It is going to be a long, hot (and maybe cold) and hard 20 miles. So what. I will still have almost a full week to recover before the race. I am willing to risk participating in the event even though I'm running Mt. Wilson because I have let go of the pressure of achieving a specific time hack on the race.
Last year when I first started to run again after two years off, I made the decision to run Mt. Wilson in 2013 and I set the goal to match my 1:51 time from 2009. Over the year I realized just how much ground I had lost by not running, but I still didn't question the goal. Then I joined the Arrogant Bastards in January 2013 and I increased my intention to not only meet my old time, but beat it... 1:49. That's how much ignorant faith I had in just being an Arrogant Bastard.
Then February rolls around with the Saturday specificity training and I am humbled and disappointed to find myself unable to hit the time hacks necessary to even train with the intermediate group... and I realized that I had set a completely unrealistic goal for the 2013 race. Yes, I know that 2013 is Coach's 10th year and that it is a HUGE year for him and our team as a whole. Yes, I know that our team goal is to shower him with medals. Yet, I also know that even if I made the 1:49 I would still be nowhere near medal contention for my age bracket. So I have let it go. That's doesn't mean I'm not going to race hard, it simply means that I am no longer making my results in this race a primary goal.
Instead, the Grand Canyon's time has come... someplace I've never seen and always wanted to hike. As for Mt. Wilson... by 2014 I will be fully prepared for the challenge!
So, on to last night's training... it's been a long hard week of training and yesterday morning I opted out of joining the CrossFit class, preferring to save it for the Bastards. It didn't help, I was still not fully recovered by last night and got almost completely smashed by my group.
BASTARDS! Reminder...tonight after speed-work (7:45pm) we'll be heading over to Matt Denny's Alehouse in Arcadia (the location of our last business meeting) for the St. Baldricks Festival. Please bring a clean shirt (for after practice) preferably an Arrogant Bastard Jersey or red AB T-shirt. RSVP here so Beth Butterfield can see please.
Thinking we had another conventional track night ahead, I brought my stop watch. Which created a whole new opportunity for Eric and teammates to tease Roadkill. I need TWO time pieces??? Yes, I admit it, I do wear a wrist watch with a stop watch feature, but on track work, I still prefer a traditional stop watch. My aging eyes can see the time at a glance while running and rarely screw up on the buttons, unlike when using my watch... which I can screw up quite easily.
Coach had created a new game called TRAIL (similar to HORSE in basketball if that's helpful) and to be competitive you needed to be paired with like fitness. A challenge for Roadkill, but thankfully, a number of our Red Team members showed up and I was able to run the game alternating between Kathy, Lynn and Maggie.
Our team races were: 400m, 300m, 200m, 100m, 50m. I won the 300m but lost the rest. Funniest story was Lynn, who hung in the back for the 400, 300 and 200, then caught us all completely off guard with her launch and speed on the 100. Awesome job teammate! As for Roadkill, my legs are smoked and I am very grateful that today is my rest day... and NO I did not do CrossFit Open 13.2 Are you crazy? I have a Ropes time trial tomorrow morning!
After we were done training, a bunch of us showed up at St Baldrick's to cheer on friends shaving their heads to support the cure for childhood cancer. We got there just in time to catch our teammates! Beth is still my hero even if I'm not willing to do what she does...
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Tuesday Track Torture
Yahoo, I love these days!
Bastards! 6:30pm practice on BOTH Tuesday and Thursday will be located at Arcadia High School Track. Bring your watches, water, and tunes if you use them. We have a few breakdowns to complete tonight...RSVP in comments if you are attending.
Or at least I did until I read the goal of the beginners 800m... 3:40. Holy Smoke! That number immediately sent an icy chill all the way down to my toes.
My results were a mixed bag...
3:49, 1:44, :43
3:48, 1:39, :42 - Julie was hot on my heels this entire round, which was almost puke inducing for us both!
3:57, 1:42, :43
Obviously I missed all three 800m efforts but actually got closer than expected, although I did fall off pretty bad on the third round. Even still, I managed to smash all the 400m efforts and completely destroy the 200m sprints... bringing me in to the intermediate range, which is rather cool! Now if I can only pick up my speed on the longer distances... Patience Grasshopper.
Bastards! 6:30pm practice on BOTH Tuesday and Thursday will be located at Arcadia High School Track. Bring your watches, water, and tunes if you use them. We have a few breakdowns to complete tonight...RSVP in comments if you are attending.
Or at least I did until I read the goal of the beginners 800m... 3:40. Holy Smoke! That number immediately sent an icy chill all the way down to my toes.
My results were a mixed bag...
3:49, 1:44, :43
3:48, 1:39, :42 - Julie was hot on my heels this entire round, which was almost puke inducing for us both!
3:57, 1:42, :43
Obviously I missed all three 800m efforts but actually got closer than expected, although I did fall off pretty bad on the third round. Even still, I managed to smash all the 400m efforts and completely destroy the 200m sprints... bringing me in to the intermediate range, which is rather cool! Now if I can only pick up my speed on the longer distances... Patience Grasshopper.
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Roads Over Sidewalks
This morning's Mount Wilson Trail Race training called for three one-mile repeats at 90-95% effort. I got to Kersting Court about 10 minutes early, bundled up nice and warm, figuring I'd drop my wimp wear layers as the laps progressed.
The course was a loop over Sierra Madre, up Lima, back over Highland and down Baldwin to the fire hydrant. I started the first lap in a group with Elise, Marleigh, Ann, Rose and Lynn. Marleigh, Elise and Ann slowly pulled away, but I kept them in my sights, while being hyper-vigilant to not let Rose or Lynn catch me... result 8:33. I consider that a surprisingly good time given the route.
My group for the second lap was Rich T., Lynn and Rose, with Carrie starting just ahead of us. I paced off of Carrie, and stayed hyper-vigilant to not let the others catch me... result 8:38. Still a good time, but I was definitely tired.
There were no rabbits for me to chase on the next lap, just an unknown runner about 15 seconds ahead of me, and the only one behind me this time was Rose. I was feeling pretty spent and decided to try following the runner ahead of me... who used the sidewalk up Lima, something I hadn't done before. I was thinking it would save me a few steps, stupid I know, but I'd seen a number of runners do it in the prior rounds, so I thought it might help me stay in my quality window... I already said it was a stupid idea. Result 8:48. Well outside my quality window. Had I stayed under 8:43 I would have earned a fourth lap with the intermediates, but since I didn't I packed it up and waited for Lynn to run her fourth.
While I was hanging out, I told Carrie about my route change experiment saying that it felt like it had slowed me down. She said "absolutely, running on the sidewalk is slower than running in the street." Damn. Wish I'd known that in advance, but it serves me right for even attempting to cut a corner. I know better. (Sigh)
The course was a loop over Sierra Madre, up Lima, back over Highland and down Baldwin to the fire hydrant. I started the first lap in a group with Elise, Marleigh, Ann, Rose and Lynn. Marleigh, Elise and Ann slowly pulled away, but I kept them in my sights, while being hyper-vigilant to not let Rose or Lynn catch me... result 8:33. I consider that a surprisingly good time given the route.
My group for the second lap was Rich T., Lynn and Rose, with Carrie starting just ahead of us. I paced off of Carrie, and stayed hyper-vigilant to not let the others catch me... result 8:38. Still a good time, but I was definitely tired.
There were no rabbits for me to chase on the next lap, just an unknown runner about 15 seconds ahead of me, and the only one behind me this time was Rose. I was feeling pretty spent and decided to try following the runner ahead of me... who used the sidewalk up Lima, something I hadn't done before. I was thinking it would save me a few steps, stupid I know, but I'd seen a number of runners do it in the prior rounds, so I thought it might help me stay in my quality window... I already said it was a stupid idea. Result 8:48. Well outside my quality window. Had I stayed under 8:43 I would have earned a fourth lap with the intermediates, but since I didn't I packed it up and waited for Lynn to run her fourth.
While I was hanging out, I told Carrie about my route change experiment saying that it felt like it had slowed me down. She said "absolutely, running on the sidewalk is slower than running in the street." Damn. Wish I'd known that in advance, but it serves me right for even attempting to cut a corner. I know better. (Sigh)
Friday, March 8, 2013
OMG It's Really Happening!
We are backpacking the Grand Canyon - Rim to Rim!!!!
Next task is to secure our hiking permit and night reservations. Jane our wonderful Project Manager has already started handling those gritty necessities and her amazing hiking husband Dave is going to help us select the best routes and gear choices. We are in absolutely GREAT hands with these two awesome people in our group!
So far, there are five of us going... Dave & Jane, Trish, Maggie and myself. We still have room for up to three more people, so if this backpacking trip has been on your to-do list for as long as it's been on ours, get to me quick and you're very welcome to join us!
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Sterile Ninja Loop
I love the Arrogant Bastards... just when I think it can't get any crazier, we get the Ninja Loop!
BASTARDS! Tonight's 6:30pm practice will commence at the Flagpole of Foothills Middle School in Arcadia. You'll need your headlamps and your ninja uniforms. We're practicing our infiltration and exfiltration skills tonight. If you are caught or captured, you'll have to disavow any knowledge of the Team and will need to eat your map so there will be no evidence. We're running sterile tonight...or you can wear an Invictus Running Academy uniforms. Contact Simon Cooper for a black T-shirt. RSVP in comments...
The thread on Coach's post were hysterical. Some weren't sure what he meant, but us veteran bootcampers knew... all black, or at least dark colors, and sterile meaning no Academy or AB markings. Stealth mode...
As for the actual run, I had to map it when I got home because I was clueless while we were running. I knew we ran awhile through the Arcadia foothills, hit a hidden entrance to the "preserve", someplace I've never been, but it closely resembled Clamshell so I figured we were following along the same fire road, just in a section I didn't recognize. In fact, no one on our team knew where we were going, so Coach assigned Dawn as our guide She did a great job! Good thing too, because Coach kept falling back with his team to make sure we didn't miss any of the key transition points. Dawn caught them all!
After a good amount of fire road running, we came to something called the "rock conveyor belt?"... I think I have it right, and I think they were referring to a small dam or run off drain pool, at the top of Highland Oaks, at least that's the street we popped out on after crossing the dam, scrambling up and down the embankments and hoping a fence (hence the need for ninja mode.) Then it was just a quick race back downhill to the school.
After I got home I mapped the run and think I've recreated the route. Not quite 5 miles and one hour almost exactly.
This evening was great fun and super rough at the same time. I love these nights the best, but the experience at the very back of the pack is not anything like the experience in the middle of the pack. As cool as the run was, being in the very back and always being focused on just keeping up (and not falling, thanks to wearing road shoes instead of trail, duh!), and not making my team wait any longer than absolutely necessary, took a bit of the joy out of the journey. I know it's the price of being Roadkill, as I know it won't be like this forever, so until then... dig deep and just keep running... FASTER!
Note on CrossFit:
Yesterday was a Z1 recovery day... lots of technique work on pull-ups, push-ups, squats, and agility and balance beam work... which was just plain silly fun!
Today, was the CrossFit Open 13.1 and involved far more conditioning than I dared do with tonight's run, so I passed on the workout.
That's it, sweet dreams friends, and I'll see you on Saturday!
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
The Bastards Pitchfork
One Tuesday a month I participate on the Mt. Wilson Trail Race Committee... tonight was that night, which was why I had the dubious honor of pre-running tonight's course at 4:30, along with the distinct pleasure of watching the rest of the Bastards start the run at 6:30.
.
BASTARDS! Tonight's 6:30pm practice will be at the Sierra Madre Search and Rescue Station on Grandview and Stonehouse just west of Santa Anita. Practice will be primarily road so bring your headlamps and reflective vests...Bob O. and Dave O. may remember the Devil's Pitchfork Run, well tonight's Bastard Pitchfork is very similar...RSVP in comments!
I chose to run the Arno loop backwards, then head down to Kersting, up Michillinda, then finish with Carter and race downhill back to SAR, for a total of 7.48 miles. I ended up walking part way up Michillinda and the majority of One Carter, which totally blew my pace. I was targeting 75 minutes and came in at 81, but it was a good fight and definitely not a Z1 effort for Roadkill. Oh, and today I brought music! It made a HUGE difference in keeping my head quiet and feet moving and a reasonable clip.
While I was listening to Coach brief the Bastards before the run, I realized that they were going to be running a slightly different route; one with a climb up Liliano but without the loop over Arno and Santa Anita, saving them a quarter mile. I'm working very hard to keep up with the team and even with that slight variance, I would be very interested to see what the times were for my peer group. If anyone kept track, how about posting a comment so I can get a comparison? Pretty please? :-)
As for the CrossFitting this week:
MONDAY:
Hang Clean
3 @ 53
3 @ 58
3 @ 63
3 @ 68
3 @ 73
Followed by:
Followed by:
AMRAP 12:
12 wallballs (16/8)
9 TTB
6 Box Step-ups (my leg isn't healed from catching my toe two weeks ago, so I wasn't willing to jump and risk hitting the same spot... yet)
I scored 4 rounds and 17 reps, which was really slow, but my focus was on the toes-to-bar and while I'm slowly getting better at them (can finally feel my lats & traps engaging!), they still took quite awhile.
TODAY:
Weighted Pull-ups (negatives w/12lb KBS) 2,2,2,2 x 4
Weighted Pull-ups (negatives w/12lb KBS) 2,2,2,2 x 4
Dumbbell Rows 12 @20, 12 @25, 12@25 per side
(Skipped the burpee segment since I was running this evening)
Powell Raises - 10 @ 7lb, 10@6lb, 10@6lb, 10@5lb per side - these are brutal - I started too heavy, and kept downing weight... which is bass-ackwards from what we're supposed to do. Obviously, I am still resisting the humbling power of a mere 5lb weight.
On a side note, I spent an awesome weekend on a spiritual retreat that filled my head and heart so wonderfully, even as it filled my body with crap. One day I'll learn how to maintain proper eating during extended stays in my other world, but so far... no go. Way too many temptations and not nearly enough sleep, lead this woman down the road to debauchery every time. Good thing it was a sober retreat. Ha!
Even the peacocks couldn't resist tempting their fate to come inside and eat from the goodies table...
Good night my friends and thanks for reading!
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