Liar, Liar

Late last year, I posted a series of running goals on this blog. Then I posted a series of races I planned to run this year.

I'm a liar. I haven't run any of the races, and I doubt I'll attain any of the goals I set for myself, either.

I don't care. I've been running without injury for three months (with a two-week holiday in the middle). I'm logging about 40 miles a week and that feels good. There's a 5K on the calendar next month and it looms like a 50 miler. I'd like to break 18:30. But I'm not sure I have it in me yet. And that's ok, too.

The big debate in my head is whether to sign up for the Pikes Peak Ascent. It'll likely fill up soon, and so the clock is ticking. On the one hand, I've never done Pikes, and I've always wanted to do it. On the other, I'm not sure I want do it in a year when I know I won't race to my potential. But I would like to get out for a few races, and Pikes will serve as motivation to get moving.

I've set Monday as a deadline for myself to set an end date for my indecisiveness. Hopefully the race will still be open by then.

Periodization v. Consistency

When I first started running in junior high, high school, and college, periodization came without effort. There were distinct seasons, and they shaped when you ran hard and when you didn’t. Cross country began when school started and ended right before Thanksgiving. Track started in Spring and finished about the time school ended. After each season you took a little time off, maybe played a different sport for a few months and then ramped up to get faster again. Rinse, repeat.

Since I started running kinda sorta seriously again in 2009, periodization has followed a different pattern. I usually have a goal race in mind. That race provides the focus to keep me motivated for training. After that race is over, I take a little time to chill, but then I ramp up again.

But, unlike when I was in high school, these races have not fit into neat biannual patterns. And I haven’t been as good about resting in the off season.  After my first 50 in 2010, and after my 100-milers in 2011 and 2012, I struggled with injuries for months after the races when I started ramping up again. I don’t think I rested as much as I should have, and it set me back months. In fact, it’s entirely likely that the injury that dogged me at Leadville was an injury that I initially got two weeks after finishing Pinhoti.

I just tried to add on the training on top of training. And it didn’t work.

I was recently blown away to learn that Alberto Salazar insists that his big guns (Galen Rupp, Mo Farah) take two weeks off, following by two weeks of jogging, twice a year. That’s one full month of rest and one full month of jogging each year.  Two guys who are absolutely setting the world on fire with their running start from nearly from scratch twice a year. Hum.

Biannual rest periods. Peak twice a year. Just like high school kids do.

Most ultra folks value consistency, and for good reason. Getting better at long-distance running (or really, much of anything) requires consistent effort over the course of many years. But I think most ultra-runners I know follow an 11-month season where a fall race is the culmination of an enormous training block that goes on forever. And, like me, they don’t take as much time off as they should after that big race.  

Part of me thinks that these kinds of runners (like me) could stand to gain from consistency in periodization in their training, and not just consistent running. 

Running Goals v. More Important Goals

A few months ago I posted a series of goals I had for shorter races.

Long story short, I have made no real progress toward any of these goals. If anything, I'm farther from them now than I was then.  

But I'm ok with that. I had a little injury in November. In December, I had a great time over the holidays. I got a couple of crazy business projects in January that required all of my attention. And then I went to Costa Rica and Nicaragua over the last two weeks. All of these things have made my life better, even if they did not contribute to my overall fitness.

A year ago, I wouldn't have sacrificed my fitness for greater life adventures, but now I'm making it my priority to do the opposite.

As a hobby jogger, I feel that it's important to keep this sport in perspective. It's a hobby I do to keep myself happy and motivated to stay fit. But it's only important in that it helps to enrich my life. If I feel that my life is rich and full, I'm ok letting go of a few running goals.

My schedule looks clearer now. I'm healthy, I'm happy, and I don't have any big trips planned short term. So I'm going to see if I can achieve those goals.

And I'm ok taking the long view of the time it might take me to do so.

Back at it in 2013

Back to running again, after my little disagreement last month with my basement stairs. I'm taking it easy getting back into it, as I can tell that my overall fitness and strength is way lower than I'd like it to be. I don't want to overly tax myself and then end up injured again. Still, it feels great to be running again, even if the volume is low and the speed is slow. I've always loved running in winter, and I've missed much of the last two winters with injuries, so these runs feel great.

Not sure what the greatest accomplishments of 2012 were in the ultrarunning world, but from my own biased perspective, Jeremy Bradford's seven 100-mile wins sure stands out as the most underrated.

Well, that pretty much sums up my 2012

Last weekend, I was looking for my phone. I have a house with some wooden steps in the back that lead to the basement. I was wearing some nice, fuzzy winter socks (they're purple and they have reindeer and snowflakes on them),  kind of half paying attention, and I slipped on one of the top steps and went ass over tit down the stairs. 

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump. Ouch.

It knocked the wind out of me, messed up my left shoulder, and absolutely smashed the shit out of the two toes on the outside of my left foot, which are now very nice and purple and even fuglier than usual. 

It's not that big of a deal, and, on the scale of things, it could have been waaaay worse, but I haven't really been able to run on it since. I went on a four-mile easy run that felt ok on Friday, but the next day, my toes were hurting in a not-so-good way, so I think I'm going to have to stay off it until it's fully healed.. 

I'm sure it'll probably be fine in a week or two, but it's the umpteenth break in my training this year.

Over the past 13 months, I've had less than four of pain-free running, with most of it being this summer from May-July. Other than that, it's been limpity limp limp. I definitely made some mistakes about not being patient enough in recovery, but this one was just stupid. 

But, as frustrating as this year has been, I had one goal race, and I achieved my goal. Most years, I wouldn't trade a year of healthy running for a successful goal race, but this year I'll take it. No need for negativity.

As my friend, Coach Jay, says, patience. It matters not a whit if I'm running sub-18 in January or 18:40, because I had to take a month off. I need to take the long view and get healthy. Only then will I have a shot at the big goals.

Gotta take the long view. 

Merry Xmas and Happy Holidays all.

Enjoy the season, and be careful wearing fuzzy socks on steep stairs:)

2013 Plans

I've put together my 2013 racing plans. Normal caveats of good health and future unpredictability apply, but below are the races I'd like to run, if all goes well.

A classic Colorado road racing circuit -- can't wait!

Polar Bear 5k Jan-20 (Goal - 17:59!)
Going to Costa Rica in Feb., so no racing
That Dam Run 5k Mar-3
Shamrock Shuffle 7k Mar-17
Spring Fever 5k Mar-23
Cherry Creek Sneak 5 mile Apr-28
Bolder Boulder 10K - Memorial Day
Mt. Evans Ascent June 15
Slacker Half - June 22
Independence Day 5K
Sand Creek Half - July 14
Georgetown to Idaho Springs Half - Aug 10
Pikes Peak Ascent - Aug 17/Leadville Pacing
ADT Marathon - Labor Day
Rock n' Roll Marathon - September 24
October -Rest
Home for the Holidays 5K
Wash Park Turkey Trot 4 mile
Jingle Bell 5K
Rudolph's Revenge 5K

Note the lack of ultras on the agenda in 2013. I'm generally available for pacing, crewing, and watching if anyone needs help, but I'm giving the Nathan Pack a year off as far as my own racing goes.














No ultras in 2013. I plan to run a few in 2014. Until then, the goal is to get fast (or, perhaps better said, less slow).

Top 10 ultrarunners of all time?

Recently stumbled across this article. It's a Runner's World piece that describes an ESPN competition for the "greatest athlete of all time." The athletes are broken down by category, and, perhaps surprisingly, there's a sub-category for ultrarunners.

Who was selected as the greatest ultrarunner of all time, according to ESPN?

Pam Reed.

Here's a link to her ultrasignup.com page. She's a heck of an accomplished ultrarunner, but she's rarely been the best runner in any given race she's run. She won Badwater overall in 2003. But she's not now and never has been the best ultrarunner in the world.

Nonetheless, that got me thinking. Who are the best ultrarunners of all time? I googled the question. No answer, and not even much speculation. And since I couldn't find a helpful source on the web, I decided to try to make a little list myself.

Please enjoy with the caveat that I am not an authority on this subject. Just a fan with a keyboard.

Top 10 ultrarunners of all time:

1) Yiannis Kouros - 100 miles in 11:46? 186 miles in a day? Yeah. Everyone else is competing for second.
2) Kilian Jornet - Just 25, but he races a ton, and he almost never loses. Would be the favorite in almost any ultra or mountain race on the planet.
3) Ann Trason - 13 wins at Western States; record at Leadville that looks incredibly daunting. Had no competition during her era.
4) Bruce Fordyce - 9-time winner of Comrades
5) Ellie Greenwood - Won Western States and JFK 50 this year with course records, not to mention a second place at Comrades. Here's link to her ultrasignup page. That's a whole lot of first place finishes, without much of anything else.
6) Geoff Roes - Past or present CR holder at: Western States, Wasatch, HURT, Bear, Susitna, RRR 50, etc.
7) Scott Jurek - 7-time Westen States champion? Doubt that will ever be topped.
8) Karl Meltzer - Most 100-mile victories of all time. Depending on the course, can still beat anyone in the world even today.
9) Lizzy Hawker - 24 hr. record holder for women, multiple UTMB titles, 100k World Champ; RRR 100 champ.
10) Julien Chorier - Alternated victories at Diagonale de Fous w/ KJ over the last four years. Came over to the US and owned the competition at Hardrock in 2011. Won UT-Mt. Fuji this year. Likely the second-best Euro today, after KJ.

[Update: As Nomad points out in the comments, Don Ritchie belongs on this list, and probably near the top. Check out this article for his background. Pretty humbling for anyone who thinks that modern runners are superior to those of prior generations.]

Honorable mentions: Tim Twietmeyer, Matt Carpenter, Tony Krupicka, J. Philippe Marie-Louise, Max King, Hal Koerner, Mike Morton, Mike Wardian, Ryan Sandes, Kami Semick, Nikki Kimball, Elena Nurgalieva, Kyle Skaggs [Update: Dave Mackey]

Whom did I forget? Feel free to post your own list in the comments. If I get enough, I'll do a crowdsourced list later.