A Run Through Time Preview: The Table is Set

Salida beckons! It's that time of year to kick off the Colorado any weather marathon racing season. Here's a look at the boys who hope to have a bit of SPRING (pun intended) in their stride. Alphabetically:

Josh Arthur- Dooper gave me some insider secrets on this guy. Crushed it at Collegiate Peaks 25 last year. Will he be the King this year?

R Bur- After missing Salida for the first time ever last year he's hoping to run back in time and reclaim his title from 2008. Coming off a PR at Moab he returns to his childhood training ground looking to light up Tenderfoot "S" Mountain; the first summit of his life over 30 years ago.

Nick A. Ragua- Fresh off the Fire and Water win a few weeks ago, he's itching to defend the crown. Will his winners tan shine through on Saturday or will he simply hold up the white flag? Despite the Grand Slam this is undoubtedly his focus race.

Bill Fanselow- don't know his current fitness level but he always shows up ready to race. Methodical, he will calculate his way to the front.

Travis Macy- Clark informed me of this contender. One to watch.

Aaron Marks- probably the first time he's been in the odds. However, he's been experimenting with a number of changes in his training regimen. At 5 AM each morning he's doing some intensive visualization training. No longer going by Slow Aaron, he's rebranding his blog and taking on the new moniker, Moderate Marks. Look for him in a Favre jersey, Oscar the Grouch beanie and pink calf warmers.

Sean Meissner- not sure if he's back to the US yet. International racing in Nicaragua and Copper Canyon the past few weeks. The cooler temps may be a welcome relief from the heat. How will he handle the snow after all the strolls in the sand?

Timmy Parr- recent additon to the Parr household. Will 2013 see his 4th W at Salida? Baby wants a win.

Nick Pedatella- on the list but not sure if he's running. This race is a bit short for his skillset. Will this race be the eventual tie breaker as he goes head to head with Big Nick during the Grand Slam?

Marco Peinado- I want to see him knock one out of the park. Not sure of his current stats. Batter up.

Jesse Rickert- a Gunnison legend. Parr should have the lowdown on him. Has he been doing laps on Signal Peak? If yes, look out.

Jacob Tiernan- Zeke's brother? If so, I will throw him in the mix. We'll call him the darkhorse. Giddy up.

Brendan Trimboli- after a HUGE PR at Moab he should have a ton of confidence coming into Salida. He's starting to dial it in. Look for another solid performance as he steps up his game.

This edition should see it all! Mud, snow, slush... looks like manpris weather. Let the games begin. And finally, a new rendition of one of your Top 40 Country favorites: "I was gonna keep it real like chill and only jog a mile or two...but it turned into an Ultra when I started running with you...more hits later...for now enjoy the speculation.

The First 6 Weeks of 13

Jan. 1- 18, Horsetooth 1, Arthurs 1, Double 1
2- 10, Aggie Peak 1
3- 14.3, Arthurs 2
4- 11, Horsetooth 2
5- 10.1
6- 11.2, Horsetooth 3
6 days- 74.6, 12:14

7- 10.2
8- 11, Track 1
9- 15
10- 10.2, Towers 1
11- 10.3, Aggie Peak 2
12- 21, Horsetooth 4, Arthurs 3, Double 2
13- 4
Week 2- 81.7, 12:36

14- 7.1
15- 9.2, Aggie Peak 3
16- 9, Track 2
17- 10.5, Horsetooth 5
18- 13.6
19- 23.2, Arthurs 4
20- 12, Horsetooth 6
Week 3- 84.6, 14:06

21- 16.3, Horsetooth 7, Arthurs 5, Double 3
22- 15, Aggie Peak 4
23- 16, Aggie Peak 5
24- 8.3
25- 10
26- 3, National Guard Timed 2 Mile
27- 17, Horsetooth 8, Arthurs 6, Double 4
Week 4- 85.6, 13:27

28- 12.1, Aggie Peak 6
29- 12, Arthurs 7
30- 11
31- 7.1
Jan- 368.7, 11.9 avg
Feb 1- 9.2,
2- 26, Horsetooth 9, Arthurs 8, Double 5
3- 20, Arthurs 9
Week 5- 97.4, 15:40

4- 5
5- 11.2, Horsetooth 10
6- 8.3, Aggie Peak 7
7- 11.1, Towers 2
8- 11.1
9- 18.1, Horsetooth 11, Arthurs 10, Double 6
10- 14, Arthurs 11
Week 6- 78.8, 12:53

Overall a fun start to 13! It's been more soul running than focused training with specific workouts. I've been running more vert compared to previous years. Keeping a balanced approached to my Arthurs and Horsetooth summits- making sure I get quality dirt time in both parks. The illustrious Aggie Peak is tabulated for mere grins. Having loads of great days in the backyard!

Looking forward to Moab! It will be a great early season benchmark to assess the fitness. Gonna be a great race with a lot of speed toeing the line. A great way to kick off my race season- see you out there!

A Look Back at the Year that Was

The daily log has been tallied. Here's the overview from 2012.

January- 310.6 miles, 2 days off, 10.0 daily avg.
February- 252.7 miles, 3 days off, 8.7 daily avg.
March- 328.2 miles, 3 days off, 10.6 daily avg.
1st Q- 891.5 miles, 8 days off, 9.8 daily avg
Races: New Year's Day 5K, Superbowl 5K

April- 316.4 miles, 3 days off, 10.5 daily avg
May- 260.1 miles, 4 days off, 8.4 daily avg
June- 263.5 miles, 9 days off, 8.8 daily avg
2nd Q- 840 miles, 16 days off, 9.2 daily avg
Races: Cheyenne Mtn 50K, Quad Rock 50M, Dirty Thirty 50K, Western States 100M

July- Basic Training
August- Basic Training
September- 151.2 miles, 3 days off, 9.4 daily avg.
* Return to regular running 09/15 after Basic Training*
3rd Q- 151.2 miles, 3 days off, 9.4 daily avg.
Races: None

October- 292.8 miles, 2 days off, 9.4 daily avg.
November- 258.1 miles, 2 days off, 8.6 daily avg.
December- 317.3 miles, 5 days off, 10.2 daily avg.
4th Q- 868.2 miles, 9 days off, 9.4 daily avg.
Races: Bluesky 26.2, Heart Center 13.1, Turkey Trot 5M

Totals- 2750.9 miles, 436:46 time running, 36 days off (not counting BT), 9 races, 3 wins, 6 podiums, 262.5 race miles, $643. in race entries

Local Summits-
Horsetooth Rock- 28
Arthur's Rock- 17
Towers Time Trial- 15
Round Mountain- 4
Crosier Mountain- 2
Bobcat Peak aka Mahoney Mountain- 2
Grey Rock- 1
Alexander- 1

Boulder/Golden Area Summits-
Bear Peak- 2
Green Mountain- 2
2nd Flatiron- 1
Windy Peak- 1

Estes Park Area Summits-
McGregor Mountain- 1
Dark Mountain- 1
The Needles- 1

14er Summits-
Elbert
Belford
Oxford

Memorable and Meaningful Moments-

03/22/2012- My first sub 30 on Towers!

05/12/2012- Quad Rock. Outstanding inaugural race in the backyard. Awesome friends, good food, decent fire.

06/23/2012- Not my best day...but awesome to finish WS with the incredible support of my fam and Meissner. Definitely a day to remember.

Basic Training- 5 mile "long" runs on the track. Obstacle courses. Mud. Awesome.

09/16/2012- My first run returning from Basic Training. Indian Peaks Wilderness. Devils Thumb Loop. 16 miles. Home in CO once again...above treeline! I ran in my clunky Asics from BT sporting mid calf length white cotton socks...amazing tan line.

09/22/2012- Indian Peaks. St. Vrain Glacier Trail. Continued post BT runners high. Running up to a high alpine lake. Taking a swim. Rewarming and soaking in the sunshine on a huge flat rock. This one spoke to me.

10/07/2012- My return to racing at the Bluesky Marathon. All smiles on this one. Two days after my B-Day. Hometown trails. Lots to celebrate.

12/01-02/2012- Two consecutive shirtless running days in DECEMBER!

In other news...Registration has opened for Salida You can't beat running a great dirt marathon for $50. that includes a shirt and meal.

Longest run of 2013 today! Out with Hanson and Clark for 21. Ringing the Rocks in the New Year at Lory/HTMP. Cold. Fun. Beardsicles. Earcicles.

2013 Race Schedule

It will be another condensed year of racing for me with my Guard commitments. Nonetheless, I'm feeling that excitement to train hard and explore different areas of fitness in 2013. As usual I will be running. The past few weeks I've begun to flip the switch from hibernation training to higher volume fun training. This has consisted of back to back 3+ hour weekend runs in Lory/HTMP with lots of vert. The recent snow/ice has commenced "Frisky Summit Season" on Arthur's and H-Tooth. I will also be spending more time in particular on Mill Creek in 2013. This is the 5th (out of 6) climb on the Quad Rock course. It's the crux of the race and kicked my butt last year. I'll be running it from valley floor to beyond Towers (start of Secret Trail) to add a layer of tough to it...and then come all the way back down! I'm looking to find a new friend in the familiarity on this stretch of dirt.

In addition to the running I've been doing my military workouts 3-4 days/week that are: various types of pushups, pullups, tons of core, and other body weight exercises. My goal is to max out my APFT score. This test measures: the amount of pushups in two minutes, the amount of situps in two minutes, and a timed two mile run. A maximum score of 100 points in each event will give you a total score of 300. Currently I've plateaued in the low 280's. I can max the situps and run but need to crank out at least 15 more pushups. This will prevent me from showing up to fire academy with a bird cage up top. I'll be more balanced in my total fitness for 2013. Weight wise I'll be running 5-7 lbs stronger compared to last year. I'm slower on the climbs but am curious to see what the magic number is that retains strength and running performance with the training load I'm on. It's not even 2013 and I've already planned out half of my weekends through May! And that's only with races and Guard weekends on the docket...


February- Moab's Red Hot 55K

March- A Run Through Time Marathon

April- Lake Sonoma 50M

May- Quad Rock 50M

End of May to Mid September- Firefighter Academy in Texas

September- UROC 100K

October through December- ?

Have a Happy New Year! Resolve to be better in at least one way...then do it!

Quad Rock Registration Opens Tomorrow!!!

Ladies and Gents,

Registration for the Quad Rock 25 and 50 mile races opens tomorrow! Don't miss out on securing your spot to run the beautifully challenging trails that connect Lory and Horsetooth. The top three male and female finishers from the 50 will be returning to defend the podium. I'm looking forward to a deep field and some runners who could take the CR under 7 hours...Dakota, Tony, Sage...would be fun to see what you could lay down! And the post-race will be epic as well!

Turkey Trottin' 2012

This past Wednesday I flew out to Wisconsin to enjoy Thanksgiving with the Burch clan. While waiting for my flight I bumped into Zeke. Check out his blog and welcome him to the blogosphere! It's always fun to run into friends unexpectedly and catch up a bit before the birds take to the sky.

Thanksgiving morning came and I was already properly stuffed from the previous evenings meal and the wondrous cooking of my Aunt Robin. Needless to say I was well fueled for the ensuing 5 miler. Lasagna and brownies stoked my fire... This was my third running at the 5th Annual Eau Claire, WI Turkey Trot. Two Turkey Days ago I finished second (30:32) on a snowy/icy course in cold and windy conditions. For 2012 I was going for the win!

Unseasonably warm temps brought forth a dry course and a faster field. While packing on Tuesday night I threw in a pair of shorts and a s/s shirt to wear around the house, never anticipating that I might run in them. Maybe I should have taken 20 seconds and checked the weather. But this was late November in Wisconsin. I've experienced near frost-bite winter running here before. My nose, ears, fingers, toes, and other digits can fondly remember the sweet stinging sensation that comes with rewarming.

7:30 AM. The outside thermometer on one of the local banks reads 55 degrees. Twas a scorcher to say the least. Now I felt overdressed in shorts and a tee. After the singing of our National Anthem I looked at the competition and knew I had my work cut out for me. There were a handful of youngsters that fit the part of having been current or post grads from the UWEC x-country team.

After 2 miles I had sweated out my shirt and was running in the 10th spot. The jack rabbits cruised along while I worked on picking off the over zealous starters. With a mile to go 4th place was 30 seconds in front. Crossing the finish I cut the margin to 20 seconds. My 28:34 was nearly a two minute PR on this course from two years ago. Finishing 5th I was the final runner to win a frozen turkey. All finishers received a 5" personal pumpkin pie. It was nearly 60 degrees. Thanksgiving was off to an incredible start.

Results

Here's to a happy and healthy start to your Holiday season.

Heart Center Half Marathon

On Halloween a friend asked me if I wanted to run one of the Heart Center of the Rockies races. The treats to choose from were a 5K, 10K, or half marathon. Originally I planned to do the 10K as a prep for the highly anticipated Eau Claire, WI Turkey Trot 5 miler that has become a Burch Family Classic. During registration a black cat crossed my path and meowed, "Half and Half." It was a sign...

I think it's been over three years since I've done a road race longer than 5K...not counting AR50 in that category. It was a random scratch to itch and I looked forward to pushing the pace for 13.1 It would be another great gauge on fitness and a chance to wear a roadie costume for the day.

My goal was to go sub 1:20. Lately I've done some highly specific training for this race; running really mellow up and down Horsetooth with friends and one speed workout on the track. I knew I had it in me! I figured I could also set a PR. The existing benchmark was a 1:20 split at the 2009 CO Marathon.

Race day came and I felt good. I wore compression socks to fit in with the crowd but knew my inner trail runner was sticking out like a sore thumb when I donned a hat, gloves, and a longsleeve. Compared to the rest of the front row I looked like an overdressed newbie as they stripped down to shorty shorts and singlets. I seemed to have forgotten how much heat I can produce when I run fast. I was out of my element.

The race started and I found myself in the 6 spot chitchatting on a beautiful morn with the guys next to me. It was fun to run hard for over 3.1 miles. I began thinking how good the half-marathon distance could be for ultra training. It doesn't beat you up like a road marathon. It is a great sustained high intensity cardio workout. And on the simple side you don't have to worry about eating or drinking during the race.

Through 6 miles I was at 37:xx. Through 10 I was at 1:01:xx. With 5K to go I could tell I was beginning to close the gap on a few of the runners in front of me. Shortly after mile 11 I found myself in the 5th spot looking ahead at Heather Utrata who was about 30 seconds up in 4th with 3rd place 10-15 seconds up on her. I put the remaining pedal down but knew I would run out of real estate for the two in front of me. I crossed the line in 1:19:19 achieving my goals for the day.

I had a ton of fun out there on Saturday! Running hard and throwing down some hotcakes postrace. Seven weeks removed from Basic and the exuberance for running continues to spill out my cup. An unnamed friend (living on Overhill Dr) enjoyed pointing out the fact that I got "chicked." I thoroughly did as only a true man can admit with pride and a smile. Running is fun.

Results.