a look back and a glance forward

For me the Leadville Silver Rush 50 marked the close to my first “real” season of running. At the close of my cycling carrier I had one goal in mind, run Western States. Although that didn't happen this season- nor was it planned- I have qualified for the 2012 Western States (finished a 50 mile trail race in under 12 hours- something that I think is an overly easy qualifying time). The runs this season started out at 10 minutes in duration and ended with the longest run being 10.30 hours. Thats right 10.30 hours! During the fall of 2010 I started running and signed up for my first race- the Gold Leaf half marathon in Aspen Co. At that time my longest run had been 14 miles. Well I did the race and finished well- 49th out of 1000 (and one of 80 people who went under 2 hours- its a hilly coarse)! Over the winter months I continued to run without any real race in mind. The early months of 2011 saw pretty inconsistent training- well by my standards. The next race I did was the sage burner 50k in Gunnison held mid May. That race sucked but I finished. By that point I had signed up for the Silver Rush and was training with a certain goal in mind. Over the month of June and July training went pretty well. I wasn't really recording my training during this time. The last two weeks of June and the first two weeks of July went really well. Each week was about 18-21 hours and was all solid training. Although I can regularly do these hours on a bike, and indeed many more, running is a different story. I was so destroyed with training I didn't do much but run and sleep. It was hard. The week before Leadville was a rest week, and I mean rest! I slept like 14 hours a day- everyday. Then I raced. It was run up to mile 43. The race started at 10,200' and topped out at 12,000' twice. It was an out an back coarse with 2 massive climbs each direction. I started out slowly- my all day pace. The first 13.5 miles was 2.15 hours ( a little slower then what I wanted but still good). This is where I saw my lovely crew. I cannot thank Anna, Jerome, and Hana enough! They were there with signs, food, and water. I flew through the aid station. We had discussed the best game plan for the aid stations and executed it perfectly. I was shooting for 2 hour splits and a finish of around 8 hours. I hit the turn around in 4.30 hours. Same pace, same crew. All was good at this point. I was a little sore but other then that I was fine. Knowing that I had ran for 4.30 hours and was only 1/2 way done was not the best feeling mentally but I decided to harden the f' up and get it done. From mile 25 to mile 39 was my best section. I killed it. I made up a lot of time during the first climb and the ripping decent. It was mile 33 that Andrew cheered me on! I met Andrew at Gunnison and was informed that he was not at Leadville. But as I was flying down the shallow down hill I hear "is that Alex Hauger!- your killing it" I couldn't have been happier to have my friend there! His cheers got me to the next aid station. This is were I saw my crew for the last time. 7 hours. All was great. I knew 8 hours was out of the question but a 9.30 finish was looking good. only 12 miles to go! Then I hit the final climb and Leadville started hitting back- hard. The last 12 miles took 3.10 hours. Shit! It wasn't that I couldn't run physically- it was the mental damage. I was pretty destroyed by mile 42. My running turned into a jog with a few walking sections- ouch! The last 7 miles was horrible. It wasn't until the last mile that I started really running again- and at 200 meters to go- a lovely treat! My roommate Richard- the best runner I know who possess a talent I won't ever be ably to touch- showed up. I didn't know he was coming! As I flew passed he told me I had only 200 meters left! Thank the Lord! I was killed the last 200 meters and finished in 10.30 hours. Not great but enough for 104th out of 430. Top 25% not bad, not bad.

Before the start with Jane, Jill, and Jimmy. Game on!

Before the start, minutes to go.

Turn around- all similes!

Grabbing food at mile 38

Best crew ever! Jerome, Hana, Richard. I couldn't ask for better friends!

Anna and I at the finish. I couldn't have done it without her!

So what's next? I'm not sure. There are a few races and events I'm mulling over in my head. Right now the Leadville 100 mile run seems to be the next logical step. I am also highly considering chasing the Leadman title. That consists of completing 5 or 6 of the 6 events at Leadville in one season. If I do it I'm going to to all of them. The 10k run, marathon, 50 mile run and mountain bike race, and the 100 mile run and mountain bike. Epic for sure! (http://www.leadvilletrail100.com) Some other races I am considering:

Miwok 100k in Marin Headlands CA
http://www.run100s.com/miwok/

Western States in Squaw Valley
http://www.WS100.com/

Hardrock 100 in Silverton
http://hardrock100.com/

Wasatch Front 100
http://www.wasatch100.com/

Any and all of the Montrail Ultra Cup
http://ultracup.montrail.com/race-schedule.aspx

And, of coarse, the Mont- Blanc!
There are a few other races in Europe I want to do but I haven't researched enough about those races.

One last race I have in mind is the 24 hours in Moab mountain bike race.
http://www.grannygear.com/Races/Moab/index.shtml

Update

So when I don't update this thing that often is means one of two things- that I am either running a whole lot or not running at all. Fortunately it has been because I have been running and riding my mountain bike a whole lot. The last two weeks have just seen a slow increase in milage. I have also been working on my nutrition and hydration during my long runs and that is almost nailed down. I know, for sure, that it was a huge nutrition mistake that made Gunnison so terrible. Had I nailed the nutrition I'm almost certain that I could have hit 5.30 hours.

The week of June 6th- 12th wasn't a great week but it wasn't all that bad. For personal reasons, that I won't discuss here, I wasn't able to commit as much time or energy to training that I usually do. The week saw a little more biking then usual as well. The week included 4.15 hours of biking and 5.05 hours of running with a summit on Green, South Boulder, Bear, and Flagstaff. Not that great but still 9.20 hours.

The week of the 13th- 19th was much better, although it includes a failed trip to Leadville. The week broke down as follows:
Monday- 30 min easy run
Tuesday- off (seeming to become the usual rest day)
Wednesday- Pm- 4.50 hours with two trips up Green and two trips up Bear. Pm- 30 min easy run with my good friend Hana! It was all because of her that I was able to get through this run.
Thursday- Pm= 2.30 hours up Flag with some new loops up top. This was a funny run for one reason. As I was cruising around a bend at the top of the climb (wearing my typical backwards trucker hat and no shirt I caught the sight 4 girls all dressed in identical green dressed. Strange right. I had heard some people talking and just figured it was them. As I fully rounded the bend I realized what was up- I had pretty much ran right into a wedding- as the vows were being exchanged. I took a minute to take in the ceremony and slowly backtracked, I'm sure the bride's maids were checking me out! Pm- 55 min bike ride.
Friday- off. Headed out to Leadville, only to return at 5 am the next morning. I had failed to check the weather and spend the night freezing in a massive storm. FAIL!
Saturday- After a long drive home I didn't want to run. So I hoped on the mountain bike and got in 4 hours.
Sunday- Am- 5.00 hour run with Bear and South Boulder. PM (only about 45 min after my first run was done). 1.10 hours with Anna. A great run, and it was really nice to have the company! In total this run was about 28-30 miles.

The week totaled up:
Bike=4.55 hours
Run= 14.30 hours
Total= 19.25 hours

recovery, recovery, recovery

This last week hasn't seen much of anything. I few runs and a few bike rides but thats about it. My left foot got royally hurt after the Sage Burner so I have been nursing that injury. My muscles feel good, and mentally I'm ready to train again. The foot is starting to feel better so hopefully this week, June 6-12 goes well. I will keep you posted.

back at it

So the last few weeks have been less then ideal. Lets start from the beginning:
From May 15th tell the end of the month didn't see much training. During that two week period I was just doing lots of short little runs and some mountain bike rides. Nothing too special, or of any significance. For the first time in the last six years I was enjoying being a "regular" college kid. I was just kinda chilling and really enjoying waking up in the morning and just relaxing and not having to go out and train for hours on end. It was pretty nice. During this time I was a bit worried about my future prospect of Mont- Blanc but I was just kinda going with it. Then it was race time!
With an overall lack of milage in my legs I joined about 300 other runners at 7:30 am in Gunnison, Colorado for a mass start of a 50k and 25k race. I was in the 50k. The gun went and the pain came! Here is how it broke down:
The first two miles were a pretty significant climb and I hammered them attempting to warm my legs up. This worked out pretty well and then I just settled into an easy all day pace (or so I thought). The first few aid stations flew by and I was sitting happy around 25th place. I was rocking the climbs and just cruising on the flats and downhills. It was all great until the mile 22 aid station. This is when the Sage Burner hit back....hard (well not so much the race, more of a personal mistake). From like 22 to 23 my legs began to cramp beyond belief. Every muscle was cramping and my toes were curled below my feet. I attempted to slam 4 gels and try to recover. But by the time cramps subsided my muscles were just dead. By the mile 25 aid station I was walking...only. From then I pretty much walked the entire rest of the race and preceded to get pasted by like everyone. It was pretty humiliating and I was mentally shelled. To give you an idea of what happened, I hit the 22 mile aid station in just over 4 hours then it took me 3.30 hours to finish the remaining 9 miles. About 7.45 hours or "running" total. The mistake? Nutrition. I was never tired, it was just my muscles failing on me. I have thought about this race a lot and have come to realize this. Before the race I ate a banana and half of a bagel and during the race 6 gels. Thats about 800 calories consumed throughout an 8 hour run. Way to little. I'm fairly certain the cramps came from a lack of electrolights and the failing muscles were from a complete depletion of glycogen stores. Over the next few weeks I'm going to experiment with eating real solid food during runs.

Also I need to give Taylor Horowitz his due glory. Taylor came out to Gunnison with me with no intention of running. I twisted his arm and he signed up the night before. He has been hammering the mountain bike and the gym but not much training. Well about 30 min after me, Taylor crossed the 50k finish line (he also ran in new shoes)! I would have to say that he earned the bad ass of the day award.

On Sunday Taylor and I spun on the mountain bike and then headed back to Boulder. I followed that up with a trip to Boulder Sports Acupuncture and had a great session with Steven Rizzolo.

Since that Sunday I have been off my feet. I could hardly walk for days and every little task required a huge effort to accomplish. Today, Wednesday 1st, I got out for a little 20 min run. It felt good to be out "running" again. The muscles are good, its just the bottoms of my feet that are trashed.

Finally, I would like to thank all the wonderful people at the Sage Burner and especially Andrew Hyde for his support around mile 23. He made the race for a lot of people!

the slow return (May 8-15th)

This last week was a brief glimmer of my formal training. It wasn't as great as I had hoped but right now I'm just trying to get back on my feet. I spent a bit more time on the bike this week then usual just trying to log more volume. The nice thing about riding bikes is the low impact doesn't affect my usually sensitive ankles and knees. By riding a bit more I was able to do a little more volume then running alone would allow. The week broke down as follows:
Monday- 2.45 hour bike ride
Tuesday- 2.15 hours. Green Mountain and a loop down bear creek
Wednesday- off
Thursday- off
Friday- AM- 3.40 hours. Green, Bear, South Boulder, then back to Green. 5,500 vertical gain. Some snow at the tops of the peaks made for slow running and some hiking.
PM- 1 hour on the bike
Saturday- 1.30 hours. Ran up and down Eldora Ski area. Crap conditions. It was like 30 degrees and rain/ snow.
Pm- 30 min on the bike.
Sunday- do to some extraneous circumstances I didn't run or ride today.

Not a good week, but certainly not the best week. Right now I'm not 100% mentally with it. The last week has been a struggle but hopefully things will start looking up.

May 14th running:
Really!?

Back at it

School is finally over! As I already mentioned, the last two weeks completely sucked. I'm on the slow rebound and starting to get the miles in again. This week was a fairly easy week. The goal was to gradually increase the milage and avoid injury. It broke down like this:

Monday (May 2nd)- 30 min just cruising.
Tuesday- 1.20 hours. Got a PR on Green today. 48.06 min. Good run and was pumped about the PR. I thought my fitness would be shot but this was a nice confidence booster.
Wednesday- 1.35 hours. Flagstaff and Green. Was hurting a bit after yesterday's effort so just took it easy today.
Thursday- Off- decided after two good days to give the legs a break. I have pushed it too hard too early in the past and suffered injury from it, so with this that in mind, I took the day off.
Friday- 1.20 hours on the bike. Cruised the road bike. I was out climbing Mangnolia Road as they called my name at graduation. A somber ride as I contemplated where I have been and where I am going. Alone with my thoughts, up in the mountains, is the perfect place to think.
Saturday- 1.30 hours. Green mountain. Started roughly 2 min farther away then usual and still hit the top in 50.45 min. That puts me at another sub 49 min summit. I was pleased with this run because I had a pounding headache the entire time and nearly turned around many times.
Sunday- 1.00 hours. Just cruised.

In total:
Run- 6.05
Bike- 1.20 hours
Total- 7.25 hours.

Not the most volume but a good start to the come back. I wish I had logged more hours but I needed to keep myself in check, with a PR and 3 summits on green I think we can say it was a good week.

I leave you with a little self portrait:

If you were to take a picture as I walked across the stage at CU Boulder's graduation I wouldn't be in it. This is my graduation picture (taken as they called my name).

Inconsistent training, Consistent school

Back at it.
The last two weeks have been pretty much consistent school work. The week of April 17-23 marked an all time high week of training. Got in 16 hours...solid. Hit about 45 miles over the weekend alone. After August 24th everything went to hell. From the 24th on school dominated my life. Over the last two weeks I have got in around 6 hours of training. But, with the end of school comes to the rebirth of training. So I am now resting up and slowly rebuilding my fitness. There is still some lingering fatigue (from all the school work) but I can now dedicate a great deal of time to rest and rebuilding a solid base. Things are starting to look up, and I'm overly excited about finding new legs in preparation for the races to come.

On a different note, had a great graston treatment with Brent at Synch Chiropractic. He did a number on my back. The graston really helps loosen up all the tightness in my back. And yes, it hurts like hell.

A week In review April 4th-10th

This week wasn't great. A few external factors got in the way of training this week, but the main two were school and what felt like a twinge of overtraining. As many of my friends, and ex-coaches know, I am a chronic "overtrainer". At one point I was so overtrained I had to take three weeks of the bike and averaged about 13-14 hours of sleep per day. I am determined to start listing to my body and letting it rest when it needs it. I'm getting better about listening to my body but I still push through pain and fatigue to get the hours in, and sometimes this backfires. With that is mind, I decided to take every other day off and see how I felt. The week broke down like this:

Monday- off
Tuesday- 2.05 hours. Took the long way up Green and the Saddle Rock trail down. This run sucked. It was during this run that I knew something was up. I posted 1.15 hours for the long way up Green- an all time slow. Terrible to say the least.
Wednesday- off
Thursday- A 2.00 hour and $67 mountain bike ride with Taylor Horowitz and Drew Hogg. This ride wasn't epic but it was certainly interesting. Way up in Walker Ranch, almost at the same time, Taylor took a nice little fall and I blew my chain to bites. So I ended up working on my tucking skills and bombed down the Link Trail and Canyon Road to Boulder sans chain. I still managed to beat Taylor and Drew down the Canyon but I feel like they gave me that victory! We followed that up with a trip to the bike store to get a new chain and then cruised campus and holla'ed at all the fine honeys! Nothing more sexy then professional bike rides with shaved legs- the girls knew what was up!
Friday-Off
Saturday- Am 2.20 hours. PM 30 min. Ran Shadow Canyon to South Boulder then Bear Peak. Bombed down Fern canyon and cruised the Mesa trail home. This was a fun and pretty fast run. That afternoon I just cruised the south Boulder roads.
Sunday- 2.30 hour mountain bike ride. After a night of bull riding at shooters I wasn't really feeling like a long run. So with a perfectly timed text from Taylor we hit good ol' Walker Ranch...again. This time no falls or mechanicals. A solid day.

Run-4.55 hours
Bike-4.30
Total-9.25 hours

This week saw a little more biking then normal. I have found that the bike is so much easier on the body and is a good way to get some training in while feeling overtrained. The rest proved beneficial and I'm starting to feel better again. Sometimes you have to cut the losses and take a week easy. Its always better to have a low milage week rather then to push through it and have to take more time off. Looking to hit 14 or 15 hours next week.

Snow, Regrets, Indulgence. A week in Review March 27- April 3rd

After my one week hiatus, this week proved to be pretty solid. The knee is feeling good and is ready for another week of training. This week consisted of the following:

Monday- 20 min. This was a short run to feel out the head cold and knee injury. Started feeling good but not 100%. That night I saw Brent and had the Graston. The knee instantly felt better.

Tuesday- Am 3.25 hours. Pm 35 min. This was a solid day of training. Got two laps on Green and one on Flag. Knee felt solid and it was great to be back in the mountains. That afternoon was an easy shake out followed by my "Belgium" recovery (10 min in the hot tub, ice cold shower, 10 min in steam room. Repeat 3 times) This is a great recovery. The hot tub and steam room open the blood vessels while the ice water constricts them. This helped shock the inflammation out and circulate the blood.

Wednesday- 1.15 hours. Just cruised around the flatirons and tried to stay out of the mountains. I need to spend more time on the flats.

Thursday- 30 min. Lesson learned! After a late night run on Wednesday I hardly ate anything for dinner and pretty much skipped breakfast. I estimated something like 1500 calories consumed over the last 24 hours. Due to a lack of calories I was forced to stop running way early today. Big mistake with my eating and a valuable lesson learned.

Friday- 2.00 hours mountain biking. Pulled out the mountain bike and ripped the trails. Gotta love bike driving!

Saturday- 4 hours. A long loop up green and then a lap on Flag. This run took the "long way" up and pretty much consisted of running super flag then cutting into the mountains. With a combination of trails and road I hit the top of super flag then cut east to Ranger trail and up. Took this loop up and down (with a few small loops in between) then ran flag. The last 30 min hurt! I'm pretty sure I was highly dehydrated at that point.

Sunday- 1.30 hours. Hit the rollers in South Boulder in the snow! Pure Blizzard...it was amazing! It cleared out all the douche bag college kids (event though they don't know about these trails- this area is my secret stash) and was epic! Was the first person on my super secret trail. This trail is off the side of a side trail and it totally epic! I only know 2 people who know about it (one of whom I showed) and it is a great run. For now the location of this trail is going to be my little secret! Awesome run! I wanted to go another 30 min or an hour but was utterly spent from Saturday's effort.

All in all:
Run- 11.30 hours
Bike- 2.00 hours
Total- 13.30 hours

This week was utter indulgence! It was so great doing these long runs and being back in the mountains. I look forward to this summer when I can train around 18-20 hours per week. Ideally I would like to hit 17 or 18 hours running and 2-3 hours on the bike. I found that my ideal training for cycling was between 18-24 hours per week and I am excited about getting up towards those hours again.

As many of you damn well better know today was the Ronde Van Vlaanderen! Today and next Sunday will always be two days of great joy and great sorrow in my life. Although today's run was amazing, it was overshadowed with sorrow. All my training on the bike, I mean all my training, was geared towards winning the Ronde and next week's Roubiax. All the way back to high school, on days I didn't want to train I did it because I wanted to win Roubaix. I didn't give a damn about any local races, I did them to turn pro and win these two races. These two days a year I usually get depressed and wonder what if. What if I hadn't chosen grad school and decided to continue to race bikes (I probably should have stayed on the bike). My biggest regret in life is not winning these two races. It's something I have to live with daily and I will be eternally sorrowful. Its hard to understand but those races are my life. Nothing, not even winning Mont-Blanc can compare to them. Is this healthy? Probably not. C'est la via.

I would like to take the time to congratulate my old friend Steven Van Vooren for his performance in the Ronde today! Way to go Steven, I will always cheer for you!

All regrets aside, I am still enjoying running and am excited to see how far I can push it. I can't say this is healthy but it's what I do. I would like to take the time to introduce you all to my old training method of "puke-er-vauls" Back in the day, I used to do 3x hill repeats until I either dry heaved or threw up. Not sane in the least but it showed me how hard and long I could endure. If you don't over tighten the screw you will never know how tight it can go.

The Ronde and Roubaix:

The two most beautiful things in the world. Period.

the word of the day...recovery

A common misbelief about endurance sports and weight training is that you get stronger as you exercise. The truth of the matter is workouts break your muscles down and it is during recovery that strength is built. Throughout cycling I have always taken my recovery very seriously. I have found that there is only so much I can do for myself and I often look to other people to aid in my recovery. There are three main treatments I use: acupuncture, graston, and massage (in that order). I firmly believe that a combination of these three treatments can help anyone achieve their athletic goals. As massage is known to everyone I will skip over that and enlighten you about my other two, preferred, methods of recovery.

Acupuncture: Ahhh good ol' Steven Rizzolo. Rizzolo is my go to guy when it comes to muscle and joint problems. All my ailments are treated with a combination of ultrasound, trigger point needling, and e- stem. Steven was nice enough to write up the quick summery that follows on trigger point needling and its benefits:

What is Trigger Point Needling? How do they develop? What are the benefits of having then needled?

Trigger point needling is an extremely effective technique that uses a very fine acupuncture needle to "deactivate" or "shut down" painful or knotted areas in your muscles. A trigger point is a hyperirritable spot in skeletal muscle that is associated with a hypersensitive palpable nodule in a taut band. The spot is painful on compression and can give rise to a characteristic referral pain zone.
Trigger points form only in skeletal muscles by a local contraction in a small number of muscle fibers located in the larger muscle bundle. It often feels like a pea buried deep in the muscle that keeps the muscle tight and weak. Trigger points maintain a hard contraction on the muscle fibers that are directly connected to them. This constriction is the source of the discomfort within the muscle itself. These taut bands of muscle fiber also keep constant tension on the muscle's attachments often producing symptoms in tendons and adjacent joints.
Activation of trigger points may be caused by a number of factors including acute or chronic muscle overload as seen with training athletes, secondary activation of satellite trigger points by other primary trigger points, psychological distress via systemic inflammation, direct trauma to the region such as fall off of a mountain bike onto the hip, and accident trauma such as whiplash in a car accident that stresses many muscles and causes instant trigger points.
The illustration to the right is a common set of trigger points located in the muscle of the

levator scapula. The “X’s” indicate the location of the trigger points while the red dots represent the pain referral pattern. These trigger points are consistently active in cyclists and anyone who is working at the computer for an extended period of time.



How Does Trigger Point Needling Improve Function?
1. Trigger Point Needling of skeletal muscle causes a reflexive relaxation of the involved muscle.
2. Micro damage created by the needle insertion causes a local healing response in the effected tissue by increasing blood supply that promotes the natural healing process.
3. Trigger Point Needling disrupts the feedback loop nerve pathway that has created the trigger point.
4. Trigger Point Needling causes a local chemical release that blocks the transmission of pain messages.
Conditions That May Benefit From Trigger Point Needling?
1. Acute and chronic tendonitis
2. Athletic and sports-related overuse injuries
3. Post-surgical pain
4. Post-traumatic injuries, motor vehicle accidents, and work related injuries
5. Chronic pain conditions
6. Headaches and whiplash
7. Lower back pain
For more information or to schedule an appointment please contact Steven Rizzolo at:

Phone 303.506.4637
Steven@BoulderSportsAcupuncture.com
www.BoulderSportsAcupuncture.com

Graston: "The Graston Technique is a type of Myofascial Release Treatment. It uses a form of instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization that enables clinicians to effectively detect and treat scar tissue and restrictions that affect normal function..." (Boulder Tri-Massage). The man responsible for treating me is Dr. Brent Apgar, DC at Synch Chiropractic. This technique has greatly helped my sore knee and helped relive some tension in my lower back. I was a little surprised that Brent remarked that I had the back of a 40 or 50 year old. My back has been greatly traumatized due to all the years spent riding and racing bikes. He said that backs like that for someone my age only come with years of intense professional athleticism. Good or bad...you decide. Brent is an awesome guy and a fellow rock climber to boot. If your looking for an excellent Graston treatment or chiropractor Brent is your man. Brent works in conjunction with Boulder Tri- Massage and can be reached at:

http://tri-massage.com/index

http://synchropractic.blogspot.com/

With break comes illness

...It happens like clockwork. At every major break in the school year, (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Spring) I inevitably get sick. Its happened the last three and a half years, and I don't know why I thought I could avoid it this year. With the exception of spring break freshman year (the first time I hit 20 hours per week on a bike) and the California Training Camp sophomore year I have always become sick. This week has proven to be no exception. With a goal of 12 hours of solid training, I ended up with 3. A terrible week. But on the bright side my knee is feeling good. I just gotta roll with the punches and get back on it. The next three weeks are planned out. I'm shooting for 12, 13, then 13-14 hours the last week. Lets make it happen!

Halla

Just wanted to give a shout out to Peter Horn and my old teammates over in Belgium killing it right now under the new name, Geox Fuji-Test Team. Peter has a working blog about the racing in Belgium that you guys should check out. Bernard has a strong team going and is running a great program for developing cyclists.

http://www.fujibikes.com/testteam/

http://www.cyclingcenter.com/

On a more personal note...

After Monday's hour run my knee wasn't taking it. About three weeks ago I twisted me knee on an epic 2 hour run through the snow. On that day I headed out to Heil Ranch (after a little snow storm) and was the only one out there. I broke trail nearly the whole way- losing the trail many times. Since that epic run, my right knee has been hurting on and off. With that in mind I decided once and for all to take three days completely off. No running, cycling, climbing or anything. I'm on day two right now and losing my mind.

I'v been told before that when you are forced to stop something you realize how important it is to you. Although I have been injured before it wasn't until now that I realized how essential being outside and active is to me. Its not even running, its everything. I have come to realize that I will never live in crowded clustered cities. I need the wilderness and open space to keep my sanity. As many of you know, I'm moving to NYC for one year next year to get a masters degree. After that I plan to move anywhere that I can easily access the wilderness. I know that means not living and working in NYC. Everyone tells me to not shut my "doors" and be willing to work there. I'm laying it out, right here and now, that I will not be living in NYC. I don't care if that shuts doors, that is a life I don't want and will not live. So please stop telling me this.

The question I get asked the most is why? Why do I want to run a 100 mile race? Most people look at me like I'm completely bat shit crazy. I remember one night out I was a wee bit tipsy and trying to convince a complete stranger that a a 50 mile running race was nothing. A walk in the park. He definitely thought I was crazy.

So why do I do it? To be honest, I don't completely understand. I do know that it has something to do with experiencing life to the fullest. For me running, cycling, and climbing all push my body to the limit and that's when I believe you truly live. The sensation for running in the mountains for hours on end, to the point of exhaustion, is essential to experiencing life. This all hit home when my close friend Richard Abruzzo came to a tragic death. I grew up cycling with Richard and always thought he was a total bad ass. When he showed up for a ride, I was worried. I was lucky enough to have Richard visit me in Boulder, CO last summer for a weekend of riding. I can't explain the feelings I had when I beat him up the local climbs. I will always remember the last time I saw him alive and will fondly look back at the weekend- a highlight in my cycling career for sure.

When Richard died, two things happened. The first was when I was talking to Jim Klabunde, Jim told me that "...Richard lived, he didn't just go through the motions he truly lived." This is something that I will never forget. It's why I do it. I want to live, I don't want to waste away in some office, in front of a computer, or in a concrete jungle. The second thing Richard's death taught me was that he died doing what he loved. Some people think he was being irresponsible and stupid but I can't disagree with this point enough. I have found that there are two different types of people in this world. One who jumps off the cliff and one who watches and says "thats re-tarted." If you belong to the group that jumps, you get it. There is something we understand that we will never be able to explain to the other group. Richard and I are proudly part of the group who jump and I will not even attempt to explain it because you will not understand, ever.

If your part of the group that jumps you probably understand my reasons for running insane distances. If not, you probably think this whole thing is stupid.

A Week in Review March 14th-20th

As I have already mention, Monday was a rest day and Tuesday was a solid 3.00 hour run. The rest of the week goes as follows:

Wednesday- 1.20 hours up and down Flagstaff with some loops at the top. I was feeling rather tight today and this was a painful one. With a soreness in my legs that only endurance athletes know, I opted out of Green and ran the much easier and shorter Flag. I followed this up with a great acupuncture session with Steven Rizzolo.

Thursday- 1.30 hours. Grabbed the mountain bike and hit the trails with Herron! Such a fun ride. As much as I enjoy running, I can't always resist the urge to ride the bike.

The ride also provided a great view of the mountains I run on a weekly basis. On the left there is Bear Peak (with South Boulder behind it out of sight) and the right peak is Green Mountain.

Friday- 1.40 hours. Solid run up and down Green Mountain. Ran up the Saddle Rock trail, then cut over to the Ranger trail for the decent. I decided to add a little more vertical so I took the E.M Trail back over to Saddle Rock and then ran down.

Saturday- Home for break! This was a rest day like no other. I got in around 6.30pm last night, went to bed at 11 pm and slept tell 11.30 am. I then hung around the house and went back to sleep from 12.30 tell 3. I followed that up with a late dinner and bed by 10.30 pm. I slept another 12 hours this night as well!

Sunday- 2.15 hour run. My knee was hurting a little early on during this run and I was worried that I would have to turn back early. After 20 min and some stretching it started feeling good. Did a few laps on the hills around my house in Albuquerque then climbed most of Pino Canyon. This is a pretty fun climb and pretty easy. Its not very steep and make for a good consistent climb. I had to turn back early due to snow. Nothing like running shirtless, in 70 degree weather on the snow. It was an awesome feeling.

P.M- 1.15 hours mountain biking. I was able to borrow a Canondale Lefty and ripped the trails on it. That bike climbs so well! It was a real treat to rip around on it.

This was a pretty good week of training, I got in three solid peaks and one minor one. Overall I'm satisfied with the week, given all the tests and papers. It was really fun getting back on the bike. I was introduced to endurance sports through cycling and I will always be a cyclist. I don't really see myself as a runner yet. A few weeks back I was running on the trails and the person in front of me warned his friends that a "runner was coming." This was the first time I really realized that I'm being labeled a runner. It's something that I haven't quite come to terms with. Personally I still view myself as a cyclist.

Total hours on the week:
Run- 8.15 hours
Bike- 2.45 hours
Total- 11 hours

A day of rest followed by the negation of

Although not planned, Monday's rest day did wonders! The 2 hour run was substituted for a 2 hour nap and I got in a solid 12.30 hours of sleep that night! Thats right 12.30 hours. I spent the day resting up and working on my knee. I found that if I sit back with my legs bent at the knee (like you sat in elementary school- with your butt between your feet) with one leg extended and bounce up and down it cracks me knee...best thing ever!

Following Monday's rest day I hit up Bear Peak and South Boulder. Running up Shadow Canyon I hit SoBo then Bear followed by some loops in the hills below. It was a sold 2.30 hours. I got a new pr (personal recored) up shadow of 33 min (timed from the turn off to the intersection at the top). In my opinion this is one of the hardest climbs in Boulder. Its rocky condition and insane vertical gain make it a hard run both up and down. Its about a 20 min run to the base of the climb then it gains 1,967 vertical in 1.35 miles.

That afternoon I got in a nice 30 min shake out around campus and some barefoot running on Kitt. After running alone for 2.30 hours I was lucky enough to be accompanied by Drew Hogg. Although not an ultra runner, he is one bad ass on the bike, and an all around ladies man. Its always a pleasure to run kitt with Drew, especially when the girlies are out playing soccer. Aaahhh its gonna be a sweet sweet summer of running!

A week in review March 7th-13th

This week wasn't bad, but it could have been better. No personal bests nor any really good runs (and only two summits). With many tests last week and many more this week, I have been stressing at a molecular level. This week, and especially the weekend, was a mental battle. There is a saying in ultra running, you run the first half of a 100 mile run with your legs, the second half with your heart. This was the case with this week.

Monday- 1.03 hours running the trials around Chautauqua

Tuesday- 1.45 hours up and down Green Mtn. With a little extra climbing on the Ranger Trail. Nothing special just an easy run topping out at 53 min (not very fast) After the run had an acupuncture session with Steven Rizollo

Wednesday- 1:00 hour cruising around chautauqua

Thursday- am-1:00 hour cruising chautauqua pm 30.00 min in South Boulder

Friday- 1.20 hour ride. With the knee feeling a little sore I opted for a nice ride on the S-works.

Saturday- am- 1.25 hours up and down Green Mtn. This was a mental battle. There are days when you roll out of bed and know it’s going to be a bad one. This was one. pm- 50 min. cruised South Boulder

Sunday- am- 1.35 hours on the rolling hills of Eldorado Canyon. I thought the struggles of the weekend were behind me. I was completely wrong. Every inch of my body hurt with this one. A battle all round- mentally and physically. On the bright side though, its workouts like these that are going to help with the last parts of a 100 mile race. When things can’t get worse are the times your find out if you have it or not. Pm 25 min ran around the paths and some on kitt.

Total- 9.35 hours or running and 1.20 hours biking (10.55 hours total)

Shoes and Such

If you want to be "pro" (in other words awesome) in cycling, you have to have the gear. Power meter, white shoes, carbon frame, and Bora Ulra's. Pro:

Its not about being fast, it about looking and being awesome. That being said, I have come to enjoy the simplicity running has to offer. All you need is some shoes and short shorts and your good to go. But one question I have been asked quite often is what shoes I like. So here is the low down on the shoes I have used and the ones I use now.

I used to run in the Pearl Izumi Syncrofuel and Syncrofuel XC. I would remove the soles and run sockless (as I always do).

With the progression of my running (and my feet becoming stronger) I have opted to start running in more "minimal" shoes. What I have been doing the majority of my runs in are the New Balance MT 101

and the Inov8 X-Talon 212:

I have been greatly enjoying running the in the Inov8's. As you can see they do not have a rock plate and are extremely flexible shoes. I have found that running in "minimal" shoes makes one much more aware of the terrain under foot and forces you to be more nimble. They force you to run off of the balls of your feet and not just power through the terrain. I greatly look forward to running in the Inov8 X-talon 190, F-lite 195, and the new New Balance 10 (road flat). I have tried the New Balance 10 (trail) and found that it is a little to minimal for me (its like a sock with laces).

Under no conditions will you find me endorsing the Vibram 5 fingers. If you run in, walk in, or own them do us a favor and become a tri-tard (triathlete). I saw someone running in those in the last trail 1/2 marathon I did and needless to say even the fat old people beat him- because he is that lame.

Two other products I enjoy are "Beligum knee warmers" (embrocation cream) and some sweet oil Steven Rizzolo gave me.

Of coarse there are some downsides to running without socks and in minimal shoes

But when you get cut up, beat up, and break your nose there is really only one this to say "harden the F' up!" Now get out there, with some minimal shoes, and be awesome!

The First Step

This blog was set up for two reasons. The primary one being an online training journal for my personal use. The second was to provide an insight into my preparations for North Face's Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc. A 103 mile race through the Mountains surround Chamoix, France.

The low down on me:
I have been balancing endurance sports with getting a degree in Art History from the University of Colorado at Boulder for the last four years. I will be graduating in May and then moving to NYC to get a masters for one year (and quickly returning to Colorado). My background is in semi-professional cycling and ultra running is new challenge. The goal: du Mont- Blanc.