2011 Montrail Team and Greeley Superbowl 5K

Well it's official! On February 1st Montrail announced its Trail Team for 2011. Check it out here I am thrilled to run for a company that makes great shoes and gear and actively promotes the sport of trail/ultrarunning. It is quite the honor to be recognized doing the thing that brings me to life each day! I had to let it soak in for a week before sharing! I am looking forward to this year of racing more than any other- the drive, focus, and discipline are continuing to build. I am STOKED to make myself a better overall runner- in the mountains and on the road! My mantra for 2011 is: CHOOSE TO IMPROVE! Each day we have that opportunity- go get it!

Yesterday I ran the Superbowl 5K in Greeley. The fitness is coming along. I ran a 17:26, 3 seconds off my PR, two days after running a 27 miler. Really getting excited to race longer in Moab! Below are a few pics of some of the Montrail team from last year: Dakota on his way to a CR at Fruita 50 and Henshaw on his way to a CR at CP50. And some characters from FOCO!

January Digits and Frost Giant Double Take

What a whirlwind of a month! As of Dec. 24 2010 Meg and I were living in Gunnison and running in single digits. Now its been a month in the Fort and on Jan 28 Dakota and I ran 25M of 90% dry trail in 60 degree temps! How time flies... Training, motivation, and the joy/fun factor of running have been at an all time high! It's been awesome to learn and apply many of the Jack Daniels training principles. The big difference I'm noticing comparing this year to last is that of recovery days. Last year I ran 10-14 M most days; not to hard, not too easy. Looking back my body never really had an easy day to rejuvenate and I would simply take a day off running. This year I'm focusing on knowing the purpose of each given run. On easy days I run super easy putting in some good mellow miles and adding to the aerobic base. On fast days it's been great to plan out focusing on VO2 intervals, tempo/extended efforts to build lactic threshhold or fast reps to improve economy. With my easy days super easy my body is recovering and allowing me to run every day. My last day off was Christmas. The streak will end when it needs to; I'm simply enjoying the process and taking each day at a time. The variety has been great and it's a simple approach in its most basic tenets: alternating fast and easy days and throw in a long run each week. This is also the most miles I've run in a month despite not worrying much about my weekly totals and hoping quality will trump quantity to an extent.

January:

411.3 miles
13.2 miles/day
0 days off
0 meat
0 alcohol
Stretch or rollout each day of the month
1200 Pushups
2275 Crunches
239 Pullups

Weekly breakdown:

1/1 - 1/2: 23.4 M, Quality: 5K race, Long: 14M
1/3 - 1/9: 87.7 M, Quality: 1. 10-100 count Fartlek (10 easy, 10 fast etc), 2. 4x1M, 4x200m, 3. 5K race, Long: 16M
1/10 - 1/16: 98.2M, Quality: 1. 10x30 sec. fast during run, 2. Towers Time Trial, 3. 8x800m, Long: 24M
1/17- 1/23: 93.4M, Quality: 1. 12x400m, 2. 5x1200m, 3. 10x40 sec. fast during run, Long: 23M
1/24- 1/30: 97.9M, Quality: 1. 2x1.5M, 1x2M, 2. Towers Time Trial, 3. 5K and 10K race, Long: 25M
1/31: 10.7M

Frost Giant Races-

Yesterday was another fun day of racing. It was the first time I've ever run 2 races in a day; good to experience something new! Senor Clark put up a nice write up on his blog- great description of the terrain we encountered on a road/dirt road/cross country course. The 5K start was a rude awakening. Felt a bit sluggish during the warmup and once we started I was breathing way too hard and settled in a few ticks back of the lead group of Youngster, Swank, Saunders, and Clark. Just before the mile I passed the Youngster (high school?) and it appeared the others had eased off the gas a bit. Before 1.5 I passed Saunders on the dirt road. I watched as Clark put a strong gap on Swank who appeared to be slowing ever so slightly. From mile 2 to the finish I gave it what I had and made up about 20 sec. on Swank who crossed the line 2 ticks before me...just a little too late.

The 10K felt amazingly better than the 5K. Our first mile was semi casual as the top four runners in the 5K doubled up. Clark was running strong and had a sizable gap after the first mile. Shortly after mile 1 I passed Swank and started getting into a good rhythm. The slightly slower pace felt amazing as I'm obviously geared towards endurance than speed. Put in a consistent effort throughout the race and finished strong in 2nd.

Results:

5K- Senor 17:56, Swank 18:26, RWB 18:28, Saunders 18:55
10K-Senor 36:23, RWB 37:28, Saunders 38:26, Swank 38:34

Senor is looking great for NOLA. Hay's in the barn at this point. Good to finally put some faces to names-running Towers at night you never know who is who when it's dark and headlamps are all you see of a face- good meeting Alex May and catching up with Rick Denning of Bells Racing Team. Greeley Superbowl 5K up next.

Breakfast Fuel

Over the next few posts I will be writing about what fuels me. I've always had a healthy diet due in part to my upbringing. My mom gave me the best of foods growing up. I had no processed/refined sugar until I was 3 years old. When I was with a babysitter she'd pack ants on a log or cheese and crackers for my snacks. My Grandma Burch was shocked when she learned I had never had jello as a child! The first time was in 3rd or 4th grade. Anyhow, I am very thankful that my tastebuds developed with real food and hardly any sugar or fat and cholesterol laden fast food. 2011 is the first time I've ever eliminated a full food group from the spectrum. I'm a strong believer in moderation and simply wanted to try the vegetarian life for a year; I also have a fair amount of all or nothing thinking which is great juxtaposition for the previous statement. So I threw in the added challenge of also eliminating strong drink as well for 2011...go big or go home!?

As a youngster I can remember getting into the huge Quaker oats container. I would eat oats raw starting at 2 years old. I would simply grab a handful and down the hatch they went. In elementary school I remember packing them in ziploc baggies for an afterschool snack at the park. As the years went by I graduated to the instant oatmeal packets. My favorites were Maple 'N Brown Sugar and Peaches and Cream. This continued through high school and the first year of college. I then had a Food and Nutrition class at CSU which really opened my eyes to the amount of sugar they add to just about every product on the market. I then took action and decided to start weening myself of the sugar I had no idea I was ingesting in every meal. Step one: Ditch the instant oatmeal packets. Step 2: Engineer my own oats.

The first recipe circa 1999 was quite rudimentary: oats, milk, raisins, and cinnamon. For oat eating sustainability I knew I needed to get more creative. The following recipe is now being disclosed to the public for your own consumption. It is the evolution of 10+ years of research and development from the RWB Oat Refinery Labs:

1 Cup Old Fashioned Oats
2/3 Cup Powdered Milk
1 Heaping Spoonful of Wheat Germ
1 Heaping Spoonful of Ground Flax Seed or Chia Seed (Alternate every day for best results and nutrition)
1 Hearty Sprinkling of Cinnamon
1 Hearty Sprinkling of Nutmeg
1 Good amount of Raisins, Dates, or Figs (Alternate every day for for variety)
1 Big Handful of Walnuts, Pecans, or Cashews (Alternate every day so you don't go nuts) pun intended...
2 Heaping Spoonfuls of Sunflower seeds or Pumpkin Seeds aka Pepitas...(self explanatory)
3 Large Spoonfuls of bluberries, raspberries, strawberries (the more the merrier when mixed)
When you need to splurge: Pour in some real Maple syrup, honey, or agave nectar (I prefer Maple)

No joke, I eat this 98% of mornings and wash it down with a 20+ oz. cup of Celestial Seasonings India Spice Chai Tea or Earl Grey. This tastes even more amazing after a solid run on a cold morn!

As for running, next up is the Frost Giant 5K/10K in Estes Park, January 30!

Quicker Quaker 5K and Race Schedule through June

On Saturday I went out and ran my 2nd 5K of 2011 at the Lafayette Oatmeal Festival known as the Quicker Quaker 5K. Senor Clark and I carpooled down to represent the FOCO Ultra Contingent. It was an awesome day to run into ultra friends and meet new ones. After getting the race bibs I ran into Bill F who was running with his son and will be prepping for his 1st 100M at Rocky Raccoon in a month. Shortly after I met George Z. George, Nick and I ran the "hilly" course to warmup for the ensuing intensity effort.
My goal for the day was to go sub 18. On Thursday I did another round of 4x1 mile with a 400M b/t efforts: 3 @ 5:49, 1@ 5:46 followed by 4x200M at 35 seconds each. Friday I was flat as a pancake...the addition of the 200's had me feeling lead legged so I put in an easy hour and called it good. Wasn't sure what to expect for Saturday.
Once the gun went off I thankfully had fully digested the residual pancake from the day before. As usual I cranked out the first mile 5-7 seconds faster than I should have. Shortly after, Aaron K glided by with words of encouragement. I tempered the pace and tried to keep the heart rate stable on the "climbs." Shortly after mile 2 I passed George who went out like a bullet. Nearing the 3 mile I began reeling Aaron in. One last turn and then it was a straight shot to the finish. I kicked it into highgear and passed Aaron on the final corner and started seeing the finish line banner getting larger and larger...
Big mistake! I pushed the zoom button 200M too early and though the banner was getting closer and closer I was beginning to drastically slow and the 3 people I passed on the initial takeoff came floating by as I was significantly sinking...
For the second week in a row I had a blast racing a distance I am thoroughly unaccustomed to. I crushed my goal by 3 seconds- finishing in 17:57, 28th overall. It has been great feedback to see how well the track workouts compare to my average race pace. On Saturday I ran 5:47 pace...just as one could have predicted from the Thursday workout bout. Nick and Aaron ran smart races while George and I could have improved our first mile.
After the race it was an ultra cool down as I had the chance to meet and share some miles with Scott Jurek, Joe Grant, and Bob Sweeney. The 7 of us put in another 7.6 to cap off a great day of balmy January racing and running. In addition to my goals for the year I would also like to go sub 17 for the 5K. Don't worry...trails and ultras make me tick...I'm simply expanding the ways to enjoy and challenge myself with running a more diverse schedule of races...

Speaking of which, here's the schedule for 2011 through June:

February: Red Hot 50K+
March: Salida Marathon
April: currently working on entry/logistics for AR 50M
May: CP 50M and Pocatello 50M
June: Western States 100M

Amongst the ultras will be some more short and sweet local events.

2006-2010 Years in Review and New Years Day 5K

2010 was a solid year of running and racing. It turned out to be my biggest year in regards to volume despite two injuries. This was the 5th year that I’ve tracked running data for myself. Below you will find the numbers that I’ve continued to build upon since I started ultrarunning in 2006. The numbers are relatively low compared to many of my competitive friends and peers. My prior “competitive” running background consisted of 8th grade cross country. I picked up the sport again in 2002 and ran the Bolder Boulder. From 2002-2005 I slowly began to run more and completed my first marathon in May of 2005. Going into my first ultra in 2006 (Fruita 50M) I had 3 marathons under my belt and the simple desire to run further than I ever had. I finished that day a broken man and never thought I’d do another ultra...
Mine is a story of continued improvement fueled by the simple love of running and the challenge to accomplish goals I would have never imagined 10 years ago. Perseverance, hardwork, desire, belief, and running friends have been vital to my progression over the years. As you can see I ran more each year as running became my dominant mode of activity. The early years were supplemented with ultimate frisbee, weight lifting, hiking, road biking, climbing, and mountaineering. As the love for running grew these activities began to receive less time. As a jack of all trades I came to the realization that my next challenge was to simply focus on one activity and see how much I could improve. Here’s how it has panned out thus far:

2006: 1148 miles, 3.1 mi/day, 22 mi/wk, 200:50 hrs/min, 8 races, 254 race miles,
0 wins, 2 podiums

2007: 1458 miles, 4 mi/day, 28 mi/wk, 248:33 hrs/min, 9 races, 392 race miles,
150 days of running, 41% of days, 0 wins, 2 podiums

2008: 2064 miles, 5.6 mi/day, 39 mi/wk, 316:09 hrs/min, 12 races, 515 race miles,
206 days of running, 56% of days, 2 wins, 5 podiums

2009: 2424 miles, 6.6 mi/day, 46 mi/wk, 371:46 hrs/min, 12 races, 478 race miles,
218 days of running, 60% of days, 4 wins, 7 podiums

2010: 3349 miles, 9.1 mi/day, 64 mi/wk, 528:54 hrs/min, 12 races, 540 race miles,
274 days of running, 75% of days, 4 wins, 9 podiums

Summits of 2010: Signal Peak- 123, 14ers- Uncompahgre, Handies, Belford, Oxford,
Wetterhorn, San Luis, Kit Carson, Challenger Point, Humboldt,
Random- Carfield (11,xxx near CB)

Signal Peak Club of 2010: Callahan- 136, Burch- 123, Parr- 104, Drum- 27, Total: 390

Mileage by month/quarter:

January- 86.8 miles, 2.8 miles/day

February- 264 miles, 9.4 miles/day

March- 345.5 miles, 11.1 miles/day

1st Quarter- 696.3 miles, 29 days off

April- 335.3 miles, 11.1 miles/day

May- 372.8 miles, 12 miles/day

June- 372.7 miles, 12.4 miles/day

2nd Quarter- 1080.8 miles, 14 days off

July- 317.6 miles, 10.2 miles/day

August- 103.6 miles, 3.3 miles/day

September- 307.9 miles, 10.2 miles/day

3rd Quarter- 729.1 miles, 33 days off

October- 344 miles, 11.1 miles/day

November- 229.5 miles, 7.6 miles/day

December- 269.6 miles, 8.7 miles/day

4th Quarter- 843.1 miles, 15 days off

Miles per week frequency:

0-9: 4 10-19: 2 20-29: 1 30-39: 5 40-49: 3 50-59: 3 60-69: 8

70-79: 9 80-89: 8 90-99: 6 100-109: 0 110-119: 1 120-129: 2

Goals and Resolutions for 2011:

Running- 3650 miles, 300 days of running, 2 400 mile months

Fitness- 300 pushups/wk, 600 crunches/core/wk

Diet- vegetarian and alcohol free for 2011

New Years Day 5K!

I jump started 2011 with the annual New Years Day 5K in Fort Collins that is put on by Runners Roost. A cozy 7 degree start warmed the legs of the hearty field which drew just shy of 100 entries on a balmy morn. It was a good opportunity to get a fitness check to build upon. Earlier in the week I also put in a track workout to get a rough estimate of my finishing time. The workout consisted of 4 mile repeats with a 400M recovery jog between intervals. I ran them all between 5:45-5:50 pace.
As the race started I got out a bit too quick hitting the 1st mile in 5:40 ish. The eventual winner (Matt Norton) and I set the pace together for about 2 miles. He slowly but surely put some distance on me during the last mile. He finished the 1/2 dry 1/2 snowpacked course in 18:16 as I came in a few seconds later in 18:22. The 5:55 pace matches up with the track workout given the conditions. It was fun to start the year off with a race! 2011 will also see more structure brought into my training. I've really enjoyed reading Jack Daniels Running Formula and I'll be applying some tempo runs, track work, and strides into my weekly routine. It has been a fresh change of pace and I've actually been looking forward to my "harder" days. Here's to 2011...Happy New Year!

Thanksgiving and the Return to the Front Range

This Thanksgiving Meg and I made a roadtrip out to Wisconsin with my parents, sister, and her husband to visit relatives in the land of beer, cheese, and brats. However this time it was the land of desserts! Thanksgiving and other Holidays are the time of year when I run less and eat more- especially regarding foods that I rarely enjoy during the rest of the year. Here's a small smattering of the guilty pleasures I indulged in that led to the gaining of a solid 5 lbs of muscle:

Multiple Dairy Queen Buster Bars, Mint Oreo Blizzard, Lots o' Pumpkin Pie, Lots o' Lemon Meringue Pie, Lots o' Apple Spice Cake, Multiple Manderfields Bakery of Appleton Persian Doughnuts, 1 Coca-Cola with REAL sugar- no HFCS for this guy! Multiple Taco Bell bean burritos that fueled the drive, my favorite post race breakfast meal- Biscuits and Gravy topped with 3 scrambled eggs and Cholula! The list goes on...needless to say fun was had by all!

When I wasn't eating I'd get out for 6-10 miles most days and explore some of the county parks that have great Nordic terrain once the snow accumulates. On Turkey day morn the Burch clan headed out for the local Turkey Trot in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Coming into the race I wanted to run hard and have fun, not knowing at which mile my fast twitch muscle fibers might kick in. It had been awhile since the turnover has been running around 6 min/mile pace.

I started out conservative clocking the first mile in 6:20. The body felt good and I didn't feel any lactate build up so I began to pick up the pace. Around mile 2 I slipped into 3rd on an icy patch but managed to stay upright. For the next 1.5 miles the course was blanketed by a cush 1'' layer of snow atop a bike path. I passed 2nd during a descent out of the park around mile 3. The last two miles I continued to increase the pace and finished 2nd in 30:32. First place ran a strong 29:43. For my effort I won a 20 lb turkey to assist with my tryptophan induced food coma that would occur later that day.

Back at the house I went online to see the official results. My timing chip failed me! There was no indication that I started, finished, or was even at the race! How I love technology! Overall it was a fun time. I may even run a handful of shorter road races for 2011...can't believe I just said that! Most things go full circle in life...

Speaking of which, Meg and I are returning to Fort Collins for 2011! After we returned from Wisconsin we blitzkrieged to find housing and we move in January 1. Meg will start a grad program and I will continue the quest to find sustainable income and a "career." I will miss the Drums, Callahans, and Parrs of the world and the frequent summits of Signal. Upon my return I will be doing some recon work on my runs to find a lesser Signal in Fort Collins. This will probably be some obscure high point on one of the foothills ridges since I will be starting from the doorstep with a 2.5 mile paved warmup before hitting the dirt. Also looking forward to reconnecting with the Clarks, Hansons, Godings, and Joneses of the world. Enjoy your holiday season and here's to 2011!

Ozark Trail 102...Consistent?

The legs met the brambles...pic taken after 3 days of healing!

Here's the short of it- 21:49:02, 4th. Solid 70 miles; slow 32 miles. Led for 73 of the first 74 miles.

Now the long of it- Overall a fun-filled road trip with my dad. We left for MO on Thursday and drove 825 miles to St. James. That night I put in my last run before the race- 4.2 miles on the hotel treadmill; felt good after 12+ hours of sitting. On Friday we did some recon work scouting out the various crew access points along the course. That afternoon we checked in at race headquarters and pitched the tent on the grounds of Bass River Resort. During the prerace meal I looked around and realized this had to be the first race in years where I did not know any of the runners or race staff...many of the inaugural finishers wished this years first timers "good luck" with a fair amount of sarcasm and chuckle in their voices. There were a number of stories of runners getting off course last year...just what I needed to hear after my experience in July. If there is anything I want from a race it is a well marked course.

Got into the sleeping bag around 8 PM. The overnight low was a brisk 20 degrees! Woke up at 3 AM promptly filled my bottle and grabbed a seat on the shuttle bus that would take us to the start. The bus got off course and we arrived at the start line 15 minutes before the 6 AM start. I got in the much needed "movement," shed my warm ups and got ready for the task at hand. Before the gun Ben Creehan introduced himself and I got a few more course related questions answered...the toughest part was to stay on track during the first 17. Two years ago there were 90 MPH winds that ripped through this section of forest. It basically looks like the area was bombed. The wind uprooted 100's of trees leaving behind root ball holes that were anywhere from 1-5 feet deep depending on the size of the tree. This area also had significant amounts of overgrowth due to an especially wet summer. Another race in the area earlier this year had to be rerouted because the overgrowth was impassable without brush cutters! We were told the area had been cleared...it had...and yet many "treats" awaited us. You gotta be tougher to run trails!

The other factor on this course was the LEAVES. I have never before run through so many millions of LEAVES! The trail was covered by 4+ inches of leaves. Since you couldn't see the trail floor each step had to be more conservative than usual. You didn't know if there was going to be roots, rocks, branches, small animals, or other obstacles to massage your feet and toes with each foot fall. After each foot plant I noticed I also had to lift my foot more than usual to clear any of the obstacles I couldn't see. This terrain shortened my stride and made it difficult to stride out and run confidently fast. Needless to say I hit the deck 3 or 4 times.

The race started in the predawn darkness and we began our trek on the Ozark Trail. I briefly chatted with Ben C and Kyle Gibbs in the opening mile. The pace was relaxed so I decided to take the lead. It felt awesome to run more than 6500 feet lower and breathe the thickly oxygenated air. This was the lowest race I have run- I think the high point was under 1500 ft. I got into a rhythm with the crunch crunch of every 2 dry leafed steps. It was neat to see how the trail resembled a dark corridor. Even though you couldn't see the trail it was visible to follow by the opening of the trees. After about 1:15 I turned off the headlamp. Soon after the leg shredding session with the infamous brambles began. My legs played a crucial role in clearing the trail for the runners behind me. By far it is the most cuts and scratches I've encountered on any stretch of trail or non-trail for that matter. At the Sutton Bluff Aid (17.6) Ben took the lead for the next mile as I took longer to fuel up.

I truly felt that this was the day I would run sub 20 or better for 100 miles. Legs felt great, breathing was relaxed- I believed it was coming together. Saw my dad for the first time at Brooks Creek (43.5) and motored on through. My 51 mile split at HWY DD was a comfortable 8:26. Things were going according to plan- I thought the CR of 18:38 was definitely within reach. At Martin Road (59.2) I was beginning to slow. No worries; still running solid. Coming into Hazel Creek (68.5) I continued the regression. Side note- this AS rocked! PoDog Vogler the AS Captain went above and beyond the call of duty. He ran a 1/2 mile back and asked me what I needed before I got into the AS. He took my instructions and empty bottle and sped back. I came into the AS with a full bottle awaiting and my fuel selection ready to go- thanks a ton! It was awesome! At this point I was sick of the sweet. Gels, Bloks, Coke, Cookies, I needed a reprieve. I turned a few heads as I put down a Miller Lite. Non-sweet, quick carbs, the change was great. I also got some beef jerky and soup before heading out.

A few miles later the headlamp came out. I was now running really slow but still running. My 70 mile curse was beginning to whisper in my ear. I had the feeling it was going to get ugly. Around mile 74 Ben C and pacer passed me up and looked strong- it looked like he could get the record. Coming into Machell Hollow AS (76.1) I was at 14 hours. Sub 20 was still more than possible...however the carnage hadn't begun. 26 miles to go...6 hours to do it...

By mile 81.5 (Berryman Campground AS) I knew there wasn't much run left in me. It was good to have the encouragement of my dad and AS people- I did my best to stay positive despite the fact the next 21 were going to be ultra slow! I fueled up on french toast, sparkling water and began the inevitable Death March.

At 88 (Billy's Branch AS) the temp began to drop into the mid 30's. Since I was hardly running it was tough to stay warm and I would "run" a bit to warm myself. At this station I stayed about 20 minutes to refuel and rewarm with grilled cheese, chicken noodle soup and hot chocolate. I needed to get my money's worth! Around mile 93 Kyle Gibbs and pacer passed me looking smooth. I somehow managed to "run" 88-95 in 1:30 and couldn't believe I had made it to the last AS at Henpeck Hollow so "quickly." 7 miles to go. One last pep talk from my crew of one. I was going to finish- I didn't drive 800+ miles for a DNF. My dad has also put in an A effort in crewing and race preparation for me...and there is honor in finishing...no matter the result.

The final 7 took me 2:13. Tommy Doias passed me around mile 96 running fast and strong as I hobbled along. I walked across the line in 21:49:02 and received my buckle from RD Paul Schoenlaub. Got it done. It was ugly.

Here's an organized visual of the destruction:

51- 8:26
76- 14:00
102- 21:49

1st 51- 8:26
2nd 51-13:23

What can I say? I am CONSISTENT! In the 5 100's I have finished I have gotten my butt kicked in the second half of every one of them! All 5 including my PR have had VERY lopsided halves. They show a tale of two races. This distance continues to befuddle me. All I can do is improve, that is the positive and I'm resilient to a thorough butt kicking- I have experienced the lowest of lows... and returned!

Towards the end of each year I get very ambitious for planning the upcoming race year. This year was no exception. Before MO I was toying with giving the Grand Slam a go for 2011. Nope. This grasshopper needs extra wisdom, experience, and training for the 100 milers. Humbled once again. Mentally it seems so easy to put 4 100 milers on the schedule. After I finish one reality comes crashing back and I realign my thinking. With that said I am looking forward to Western States and Leadville for 2011. If I mention anymore please give me a gentle slap and say, "Patience grasshopper!"

Finally, a look at how the podium runners improved from last years times. Great job guys, thanks for tips on the course! BTW I ran all 102 miles clean. No getting off course on this one!

1st- Ben Creehan 19:32 (22:59, 2nd in 09)
2nd- Kyle Gibbs 20:52 (24:12, 6th in 09)
3rd- Tommy Doias 21:03 (25:39, 8th in 09)