Hardrock 100

I'm working with LaSportiva to put up some videos of me training for my upcoming race in July at Hardrock 100. I'll post a link to those when they go up. I figured putting my training calendar for the two months leading into Hardrock on here would be good if anyone is interested. So here is my semi-annual blog post (I swear I really do mean to post more often). Nothing too exciting here but a good amount of running.

May
1st- 7th
Sunday: 10miles Easy
Monday: 1hour Easy
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: 20min Warm-up 4x400m with 400m recovery 15min Cool-down
Thursday: 35min Easy
Friday: 25min Easy
Saturday: Miwok 100k

8th-14th
Sunday: Rest
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 8miles Easy
Wednesday: 8miles Easy
Thursday: 12mile easy ninja run
Friday: Rock climbing 2hours
Saturday: 20miles

15th-21st
Sunday: 15 quick
Monday: 10 easy
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: 25min warm-up 3x15min XC course 4min recovery, 20min cool-down
Thursday: 12mile easy ninja run
Friday: 20min warm-up 10mile trail tempo run, 10min cool-down
Saturday: 20+miles hilly on Mt. Diablo, practicing with hiking poles

22nd-28th
Sunday: 25miles hilly but easy
Monday: 12miles quick
Tuesday: 6miles easy
Wednesday: 20min warm-up 7x1mile hill repeats 2x downhill hard, 10min c/d
Thursday: 12mile easy ninja run
Friday: 20min warm-up 11mile ladder tempo 15min cool-down
Saturday: 35mile hilly

29th-June 4th
Sunday: 22mile easy
Monday: 13mile quick
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: 20min warm-up 9x 900m hill repeats 20min cool-down
Thursday: 12mile ninja run easy
Friday: 20min warm-up 10mile tempo on trail 15min cool-down
Saturday: 18mile easy

5th-11th
Sunday: 30mile steady and hilly
Monday: 10miles easy
Tuesday: 6miles easy hilly
Wednesday: 25min warm-up 3x15min XC course 4min recovery, 20min cool-down
Thursday: 12mile ninja run easy
Friday: 8mile Tempo
Saturday: SD1oo pacing 50mile night run

12th-18th
Sunday: SD100 pacing 50mile night run
Monday: 8mile easy
Tuesday: 15mile easy
Wednesday: 15min warm-up 8x1.5mile hill repeats 20min cool-down
Thursday: 12mile ninja run easy
Friday: 30min warm-up 8mile trail tempo 10min warm-down
Saturday: 40+miles steady

19th-25th
Sunday: 5x5mile Widow Maker hill repeats
Monday: 13mile easy
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: 20min warm-up 5x1.5mile hill repeats 20min cooldown
Thursday: 12mile ninja run easy
Friday: 20min warm-up 12mile trail tempo 15min cool-down
Saturday: WSER pacing 20mile night run

26th-July 2nd
Sunday: WSER pacing 20mile night run
Monday: 15mile easy hilly
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: 20min warm-up 6x1200m trail 20min cool-down
Thursday: 12mile ninja run easy
Friday: 20min warm-up 10mile trail tempo 10min warm-down
Saturday: 15mile easy trail

3rd-9th
Sunday: 10mile easy trail
Monday: 8mile easy
Tuesday: rest/pack bags
Wednesday: Travel 30min easy
Thursday: 20min easy
Friday: Hardrock 100
Saturday:Hardrock 100

Tennessee Stump Jump

StumpJump 50k

Some days I feel fast and am able to translate that into fast running and fast times. On other days I feel sluggish and slow. Then there are the days where everything leading into a race I am feeling fast, healthy, ready, only to have a mediocre race. Last weekend was one of those mediocre races. After getting into Chattanooga late on Thursday night I wasn't able to settle down in my hotel room until late. Friday was a whirlwind of talking with fellow La Sportiva teammates and showing runners the current and new lines of shoes. There are some really cool new shoes that I'm looking forward to running in. The Electron with the Morpho Dynamic technology looks great (I can't wait to get this shoe for running in Yosemite), as does the new design and slight changes made to the Crosslite, and the new X Country. Seems like La Sportiva is going to be making some great changes for next year.
After talking to other runners about the shoes for 5hours I was exhausted. That evening I found myself tossing and turning most of the night trying to get a few hours of sleep before the race.

The race started very quickly with a large group of guys charging out hard. I laid pretty far back and got myself into a comfortable pace. I was feeling pretty good. The StumpJump course is a tough 50k lollipop through some of the forests just north of Chattanooga. The terrain is beautiful with great views of the Tennessee River and Signal Mountain. Photo credit: hankinsphoto.com

Going into the race I was feeling good and happy to be out there running. I had a little trouble bouncing back from Burning River, but I really tried to focus on enjoying my runs and putting in good non-tedious miles for training. I probably only wore a watch 20% of my runs leading into the StumpJump.

The first 10miles I was feeling happy to be out there running and feeling like I was moving along somewhere in the top 20. Although I was having trouble running some of the steep technical downhill sections. While other people seemed to be flying down these spots I was doing all I could to not come crashing down. I know I need to really put some time in on running more technical downhills if I want to have a chance of hanging with some of the top runners out there.

At some point between miles 12 and 15 my mind started to fall out of the race. I'm still not sure why this happened; I was staying up pretty well on my nutrition and wasn't going too fast for my fitness. If anything I would think it was from lack of sleep over the days leading up to the race. For miles 12-20 I was not feeling the race, I was in a gap between the lead pack of runners and the chase pack behind me with nobody in site. Running in no-mans-land by myself I fell into a steady but non-inspired pace just feeling like there wasn't a lot of energy in my legs or my body for that matter.
I continued to take in my calories and kept moving at a comfortable pace, hoping I would snap out of it. I don't remember what aid-station it was but one of the volunteers told me I was in ninth place. I wasn't too thrilled to hear this, thinking I was higher in the rankings but I started to tell myself: "alright you're having a bad day, but that doesn't mean that you can't enjoy yourself out on the trails".

For some reason I kept thinking to myself I was having a bad day. This didn't sit well with me though. I thought if someone were to ask me what I did today I wouldn't be able to say "oh today was a bad day, I spent 5hours out on beautiful trails getting to do something I love." It just didn't seem like I could actually say I was having a bad day. Maybe not the day I wanted to have, or the race I believe I am capable of having , but in no way a bad day. I think once I started to tell myself this my pace started to quicken. I started to feel happy again to be out there and focused on what I was doing. I didn't care about what place I was going to finish in, I just wanted to be out there enjoying myself.

I kept plugging away at the trail making better progress than I had been and feeling pretty good about just being out there. With about 1 1/2miles to go I turned a corner and there was another runner... I didn't expect that! I passed them pretty quick and made another turn and there one switch back up was another runner...what? Well I closed that gap quickly and right in front of him there were two other guys running together so I pushed a little harder on the throttle and jumped by them. I was flying along at what felt like sub 7min pace at this point in the race enjoying some of the easier trail sections, knowing that I was opening the gap on the guys I had just passed. I was glad to be passing people this late in the race and with what felt like a sense of authority, but what was really great was I was having fun and feeling like I was pushing my body to go a little harder than I had all day. Then with about 1/2mile to go I saw yet another runner in front of me. I was able to give one final surge and pass him and hold on through to the finish line; catching up on 5places in the last 1 1/2miles.

So this wasn't one of my best races, and I know I could have done better out there but ultimately I enjoyed myself and finished well overall. I would have liked to make the podium but it just wasn't in my mind or body on that day for some reason. Maybe I just rolled over when I should have been pushing harder, I don't know and I don't really feel like analyzing it anymore than I already have. I'm fine with having a good day (even if not necessarily a fast day) out on the trails. I am pretty new to the trail running scene; I have done cross country, and put in some miles on the road over the last few years, but going out into the woods for hours with little more than a water bottle and some food is pretty new to me. One of the things I am finding I truly enjoy about running is where it has taken me. Being able to go out to Yosemite and run in back country that takes most people one or two days to get to, running from Cleveland to Cuyahoga Falls, or hitting some trails in Tennessee I would have never seen otherwise is one of the aspects of running that will always reaffirm why I am out there whether I am having a fast day or a slow day.

Burning River 100

So I just got back to SF after a week in Northern Ohio for lot's of Yanko Family time and The Burning River 100 which was also the USATF National Championship this year. Isn't it great how spending time with the family coincided with a race that I have wanted to run, it's almost as though I planned it that way.

Well the really cool thing about this was that all of my cousins and aunts and uncles were also in town the same week.

No she's not mine but she is frickin cute.

It was really spectacular to have everyone out there cheering for me and supporting me. There were definitely some parts that I really needed the encouragement.

Family support.

Well I am not one for race reports and I'm not going to do one for this race either but what I will say is the race was excellent. I had an amazing race that I played out perfectly for the first 75miles and then things started to fall apart a little on me. I haven't figured out yet just what happened; was it my training, nutrition, trouble sleeping before the race, mental, or some combination of all these and other factors I have yet to consider. Yeah that's probably it.

Happy time at an aid station.

I would have liked to of done a little better overall and I really feel as though I should have been able to make it onto that podium but I guess that just wasn't my day and it was other people's day instead.

A bad time. Eating a boiled potato.

The course is totally awesome and beautiful. One of the great things I always tell people about Ohio is just how beautiful it is and how much the park system means to all the people out there, and this race really shows that and takes runners through some of these amazing parks on a wonderful point to point course.

Sound of Music Hill, my family was even singing for me as I came up the hill!

The volunteers and crowds were top-notch and very supportive. One really exciting part of my race was the way in which I was able to finish. Going into Memorial Park aid station (something around 96miles) I was falling apart and not too happy. At this point Annette Bednosky had caught me and we both left the station at the same time, let me tell you something happened there, maybe I could smell the barn or maybe I just didn't want to get chicked (which honestly I tell myself I actually am totally fine with but who knows if inside I REALLY am okay with it), or maybe I was just really happy to be running in the presence of someone else. Whatever it was I just took off, I'm told I closed a 7 or 8min gap on the 4th place runner over those last 4miles. It was fun to be running that fast.

I finished 5th overall in 16:42 and change. 1st in my age group 25-30 or something like that. Not the race I was hoping for at the end of the day but honestly how can I really be disappointed with myself when I just ran 100miles? I think I can be okay with how the race played out. Oh and I can't even begin to explain how awesome my crew was. My sister Kristin and my Special Lady Friend Devon were beyond awesome. At mile 75ish I even got my shirt taken off for me in a provocative manner, and there was some butt grabbing too (all this done by OR to my Special Lady Friend NOT my sister just to clarify).

A good time, getting stripped. Awesome!

Nothing like some butt grabbing to make a runner feel a little better and more energetic late in a race.


If you want a race recap here are some really great ones from other runners who were out there:
Scott Dunlap
Todd Braje
Annette Bednosky
Eric Grossman

So on to some food talk already.
Pre- race I had an excellent rib eye steak from Mustard Seed Market, white rice, a green salad, and a awesome white peach, and arugula salad.
Post race was lot's of different things when my stomach would allow.

Sharing my post-race coconut.

I tend to not be able to eat too much the days following the race, but I managed to get in plenty of Swensons an Ohio staple for hamburgers.

mmmmm a Galley Boy please.

I would have gotten a photo but they didn't last long enough the couple of times I stopped to get one. Yum.

Post race recovery, going barefoot with my sister Beth, Kristin and girl friend Devon.

Today I made it off to the Ferry Building Farmers Market and got quite the haul. On the menu other than lot's of salads is a rustic Bakers Terrine, some roasted padrone peppers, and some sprouts.

Haul from the market today. Purslane, sprouts,
mushrooms, potatoes, bibb lettuce, padrones, chicken livers.

Oh and one final note of something wonderful for today's cold San Francisco morning, I was treated to an amazing hot chocolate at the market from my good friend Marianne of Anna's Daughter's Bread. It was perfection! I recommend checking it out if ever at the Saturday market, she set's up just outside of Boulettes Larder.


White Peach and Arugula Salad:
2 Organic White Peaches (ripe but not mushy) Wedged (something like 10 slices)
1/2 Red Onion Thinly sliced
1handful Organic arugula
1bunch golden beets, roasted and cut into bite-sized wedges
1bunch French breakfast radishes, sliced in half length wise
1/2cup light crumbly goat cheese, like a chevre
1/4bunch Parsley torn

Sherry Vinaigrette:
1/8cup Sherry Vinegar
1/2cup Olive Oil
Black Pepper a good amount freshly cracked into the dressing
1tablespoon Dijon mustard
2sprigs fresh Tarragon roughly chopped

Method:
Mix together, add dressing just before serving.

Heat training has it's benefits.

Heat training sucks. It's hot and sweaty, gives me chaffing in places I wish not to mention in this forum, and when I get home I have to wring my clothes out before I can enter the house.
As the post title says though there are benefits to this whole heat training crap.
Today I joined the Dawn Patrol Ninjas on our weekly scouting of the Marin Headlands. Starting at about 5:15am I couldn't stop thinking about what to eat after the run. It had to be one of my favorite treats in all of San Francisco. Off to Trouble Coffee at 46th and Judah to build my own damn house.

Built my own damn house.

It's really hard to beat a post-run meal that includes a cappuccino, a young coconut, and a slice of thick cut toast loaded with butter and cinnamon sugar. Not that I really need to justify eating this stuff when I'm doing well over 100 miles a week but it makes it a little more special when I don't go every day.


Well in other running news I'm ready to start into my taper for Burning River in two weeks. I'm feeling okay right now; tired, a little cranky, achy, and hungry all the time. I must be on the right track then I would think.

48 on the Iron Horse trail

About to start on the Iron Horse Trail

Just got back from my first long run for Burning River in a few weeks. I am doing a quick slam for my training for this race which I am not thrilled about. However I am also curious how it treats me, so for pretty well. I have had a few little issues that with the help of Scott at Psoas Massage I have been able to think of them as only "little issues" and not being totally sidelined by them.

Well the run today was a focus run that I was hoping to go long (45ish miles) but more of the focus was to get some good heat, and lot's of pavement and flat stuff. Living in San Francisco I have to look around to get good long sections of flat. They are there but I just wanted really long flat stuff to mess around with.
I was lucky enough to have crew support in the way of a really cute running chick I refer to as My Special Lady Friend.
The run went great, I was clipping away at 6:40-7:00min miles for the first 24miles. I then faded ever so slightly as the day heated up going closer to 7:00-7:10min miles from mile 24-38. Then the final ten I was starting to hurt a little, I think mostly from lack of electrolytes; so my pace dropped to closer to 7:40-8:00min miles.
Over all a good run that I am pleased with. I pushed myself and realize I need to be doing a better job of electrolyte balance and keeping my pace a little slower early on.

Time for another big training week for me coming up.

Very much needed Slurpee post run.


***Thanks Devon for the photos and great crewing out there!***

Salsa

So this last weekend I was out on a Sunday morning run with Devon up on Mt. Tam. It was a beautiful day and physically my muscles were feeling pretty good. For some reason though I couldn't mentally get into the run. Maybe it was because we started a little late, maybe there were too many people on the trails because of Fathers Day, or maybe I just had things to do after the run that were distracting me. Any how I was simply not feeling the run. This doesn't happen too often with me but when it does I tend to listen to my body. I could have slogged out an additional 10miles (like my original plan was) or I could call it a day at 12miles, enjoy the afternoon and not feel stressed about getting my life in order the rest of the afternoon.
So Devon and I called it a day and went home and made salsa with some of our Eatwell ingredients.


This was a great decision for many reasons; first salsa is delicious, second I want to enjoy my running, third my body was telling me to stop for some reason and I need to listen to that. I have goals for my running and places I want to take my running, but if I'm not enjoying a run then something is wrong and I should be able to pull back from the run and re-access what I am doing and why.
After a nice lunch, and some relaxing down time I was feeling good enough to go out for a quick run through Golden Gate park before dinner. This run felt much better and I was again excited to be out there running.
Sometimes it is good to not take a running schedule too seriously, because ultimately I just want to enjoy myself out there.




Salsa:
6ea Tomatoes (get good local organic ones in season) Seeded and chopped
2ea Jalapeno (I like spicy but use as much or little as you want) seeded and finely chopped
2ea Limes juiced
10ea sprigs cilantro cleaned, dried, chopped
1/2ea red or white onion chopped

Mix it all together let sit at room temp for about 30-60min. Make sure to make more than you think you might need, because there is never enough salsa and it is good with just about everything.

What I decided to do instead of running last Sunday.

Summer

Bounty from the Ferry Building Farmers Market

Finally it feels like summer here in the bay area. I have my mother visiting and we have gone wondering around doing some of my favorite things and doing some fun touristy things as well.

Taking the ferry from San Francisco to Sausolito

My first week of training has gone well. I have not been able to make time for long runs this weekend because of my visitor but I think that is fine and probably really good for my body to slowly slide back into the training regimen. I'm looking forward to getting my intensity up again as this week has been loose on training and just picking up the pace a little more than recovery time. Hopefully I'll be able to put in a longish run this Wednesday morning before going to work. After all I need to be sure and be in shape for my WSER pacing duties in a few weeks, I don't want to get dropped!