A Few Thoughts on Training

This grey and lovely May afternoon I finished up an 18-mile training run.  There were a few May flowers poking up from the 2-10" of snow that was on the ground, but at times I couldn't see them because the ice pellets that were blowing sideways stung my eyeballs so bad I ran with my lids closed.

It was a good run.

Typical May Wyoming snowstorm (photo credit: Evan Reimondo)

I'm at the tail end of a three week training cycle of high mileage running getting ready for Bighorn 100.  This is definitely a goal race for me, and after so many hours of running in sunshine, snow, rain, wind, etc. I've been reflecting on all my hours of training.  Training for ultramarathons is kind of stupidly simple (you run a lot), but also really complex.  Structuring training around work schedules, family commitments, working the right energy systems, getting in the required miles, adjusting to the weather, terrain, nutrition, etc.  Getting ready for a big goal race is no small task.

A little rock hopping up Indian ridge (photo credit: Evan Reimondo)

This spring I've done something dramatically different with my training: I hired a running coach.  I picked Ty Draney, an all-around badass and good guy that's placed in the top five at just about every major rocky mountain hundred miler.  He's also a high school teacher in Wyoming, so I figured he'd be a safe choice.  I wanted a coach because I was losing too many hours of sleep wondering if I was doing enough, or doing too little, or even doing the right things.  I was tired of being a head case, and missing training with stupid little injuries.  A little guidance was in order, and I am very grateful.

Getting our feet wet (photo credit: Evan Reimondo)

Typically I do most of my training on my own; its my time to just think, enjoy the mountains, and have a little solitude after hanging around with high schoolers all day.  Plus, its just easier to not work around someone else's schedule.  But, the last few weekends I have branched out and ran a little bit with the Lander Running Club again, as well as my compadres Evan and Mike.  Running with other people forces you to slow down to a talking pace, which leads to a more relaxed run.  Its been completely enjoyable to take my foot off of the gas a little bit and adventure with some other people.  Don't get me wrong: I'm still running intervals in the dark and rain at 5:30 in the morning, or slogging up muddy trails after school, and dodging cranky rattle snakes on Sunday afternoon on my own.  But, its been refreshing to spend some Saturday's adventuring with great people and I hope to do so more in the future.

Evening solo run in the mud: I basically waxed my legs getting the mud off.  It looks kind of nice.

The dudes on Fossil Hill

Motivation for running is rarely lacking for me.  I absolutely love spending time in the mountains, exercising, and I've always enjoyed preparing for competition.  The one thing that really gets me is being away from my family.  I usually do my high mileage running during the summer when I've got all the time in the world and I'm still around home a lot.  I've been training hard during the school year, which I knew would be a challenge.  On Tuesday this week I didn't feel right: I was tired, low on energy, and after 45 miles in the last three days I felt like I was just missing out on too much.  I skipped my scheduled workout and Jenny and I ran to the park while Ella rode her bike.  Am I going to make my weekly mileage goal now? Nope.  Any regrets?  None.

She's got the need for speed too

Someone probably much smarter than me once said "racing is the celebration of training".  I think that's probably true, and part of what makes competing so fun.  It takes a gross amount of hard work, total commitment, and what can only be described as love and support form all sorts of people to really train for an endurance event.  Sometimes things still don't go to plan, but its about the journey, not the destination, right?   To all of you out there who are training, or have trained, for an event that is near and dear to your heart: Great work!  To all of you out there who have in some way loved, cared for, or supported someone who had some sort of ridiculous goal to test their own physical and mental limits: Thank you!

Jenny, 5-week Ella, and my Mom crewing for me at the Bighorn 50 in 2012.

Wind River Peak Fastest Known Time, Trail Runner Magazine, and more Mountain Running

I chose an interesting schedule this year, with basically no racing during spring or early summer, and all competitive running during the late summer and fall.  This plan makes sense here in Wyoming because it takes forever for the mountains to melt out.  If I race too early, I don't get a chance to train in any of the spectacular high country in the Winds and other area mountain ranges.  So, with the Telluride Mountain run just being a little more than a week away, its time for me to rest and reflect a little bit on a rockin' June and July of running in the backcountry.  Here are a lot of photos from a few different long runs:

 Montana's Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, Peak 10,375 above Elk Lake

Monument Peak is the one with the dark storm clouds above it.  That's about how it looked the day I tried to propose to Jenny up there...

Lingering snow on Hellroaring Pass

The ridge line above Elk Lake

Beautiful country

I would have spent all day up here if it weren't for all the clouds moving in

Ridge Running

Looking down into the Hellroaring drainage

Elk Lake panorama

Did someone highlight these? Unbelievable!

Nestled right in the middle of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness is Christikon, a Lutheran summer camp that is a little piece of paradise.  We volunteered to help out at the camp for a week this summer, and I managed to get away for a couple of good runs.  For anyone that has been to Christikon, you know what a special and unique place it is for so many reasons.  One reason that this area is special to me is because this where I really got comfortable in the mountains; we backpacked and hike a ton, and got started on mountain running too.  It is always great to go back, and the running certainly doesn't disappoint.

The Bears Ears and Lizard Head Trails, Wind River Range

Running high and exposed at almost 12,000 feet

The iconic Lizard Head Peak.  The days run would end at Lonesome Lake in the Cirque of the Towers, in the far background of this photo.

Some snow never melts

Another view of Lizard Head Peak just because it is so awesome

The Bears Ears and the Bears Ears Trail

Wind River Peak, 13,192 feet, Fastest Known Time?

After scouring the web, I'm pretty sure there is no established FKT or "Fastest Known Time" for an ascent of Wind River Peak.  Wind River Peak is a amazing mountain because it has about 2000 feet of prominence and it is 40 miles from a higher mountain.  It really is a massive mountain that sits at the heart of the southern Wind River Range.

There are a number of ways to approach Wind River Peak, but it makes the most sense for me to start from Worthen Meadows Reservoir.  I ran down the Sheep's Bridge Trail, up towards Pinto Park, and then I took the Deep Creek Cutoff.  From Sheep's Bridge to the summit its about a 5,000 foot climb. Ouch.  After reaching the summit in 3 hours and 49 minutes, I headed down towards Tayo Lake, on to the Middle Fork of the Popo Agie, and up an over Roaring Fork Pass back to Worthen Meadows for a round trip time of 7 hours and 38 minutes.  In all honesty, I was moving pretty fast for this run but I spent a lot of time taking pictures, talking to backpackers, and I even talked to Jenny on the phone from the summit for a little bit.  It could certainly be done much faster.  Maybe a project for next summer?

Well for now, I don't know of a faster time up Wind River Peak summit I'm calling this it.  Here is a link to my "Movescount" page for the breakdown.  The elevation data is not right because my Suunto watch seems kind of defective, but the map and the time are accurate.

Wind River Peak - Movescount

On our way up from the Deep Creek Lakes

A perfect day on the summit to relax and my new favorite shoes: the Salomon Sense Pro (in green!)

The views coming down to Tayo Lake are amazing.  I spent way too much time taking pictures.

Beautiful patch of Columbine on the way down

I ran out of chlorine water treatment towards the end of the run, so I started to strategically drink from some untreated stream water.  A few days out now my stomach is starting to feel pretty jacked up; hopefully I didn't pick up some crypto or giardia.  But, I do have Celiac Disease, so my stomach always seems to be a little off.

I couldn't resist a picture of Tayo in his namesake Tayo Lake

How does one recover from all of this running?  Blueberries, waffles, omelets, and coffee are a good start.  I've also been drinking a lot of Gu Recovery Brew with whole milk after runs and that seems to help as well (and it actually tastes good).  A much needed massage with Jagoe Warren really helped loosen up overly tight hamstrings and hips as well.











Trail Runner Magazine, September 2014

I was pleasantly surprised a few weeks ago when well-known writer and runner, Meghan Hicks of Train Runner Magazine and iRunFar.com, emailed me asking for a little assistance writing an article about trail running in the Wind River Range.  She specifically wanted to feature Lander as a "Top Trail Town".  Super cool, right?

I answered a bunch of questions for her, suggested a few routes, and gave some other beta.  She turned it all into a nice article in the September 2013 issue that is on shelves now.  I got a copy at Wild Iris in Lander, but I know the magazine is available at places like REI and Barnes and Noble.

Next up, the Telluride Mountain Run in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado.  A neat 38 mile run with a whopping 13,000 feet of climbing, and an average elevation of 11,500 feet.  Good clean fun.

Summertime

After spending some time in Wisconsin visiting family, we stopped in Sheridan to help crew and pace Evan in the Bighorn 100.  Evan didn't have the best day on the trail and ended up dropping out after 30ish miles.  I was going to run 50 miles with him, so it was a bummer I didn't get to do that, but it was an even bigger bummer for him.

So, after getting back home to Lander it was time to really get after it and starting training hard again for  the races coming up, which of course means some Wind River Mountain Running.

Pinto Park

I started with a 12-mile run up Roaring Fork Pass, and then the next day a 26 mile run to Pinto Park.  The view of the Cirque of the Towers from Pinto Park never gets old.  I got stormed on a little bit, but otherwise it was a good run.

Next was a run to Wind River Peak.  Ideally, I wanted to get up the mountain because the forecast was perfect, but I knew snow conditions would make that challenging.  I also picked the most elevation intensive route to Wind River Peak, trying to get my legs some more vertical in preparation for the Telluride Mountain Run and The Rut.  So, I just made too slow of progress to get to the summit of the 13,192 foot mountain in a reasonable amount of time.  But, the 31-mile effort took me to the Ice Lakes and Deep Creek Lakes, still some of my favorite places to run.

Slow going on the trail to the Deep Creek Lakes

Tayo walking the line

A sign of summertime

Wind River Peak cirque

How embarrasing: a "selfie".  Proof that I was there.

Just a few days after my jaunt to Wind River Peak, I headed over to the western side of the range to Big Sandy.  I did a 23-mile run to the still very snowy alpine terrain of Clear Lake, Deep Lake, Temple Lake, and Temple Pass.

Deep Lake, with East Temple Peak and Temple Peak

Temple Peak, from Temple Pass

Snowfields down Temple Pass to Temple Lake

Big rock with some snow

The other very exciting event in June was Jenny running the Northfork 50 mile race.  She had a lot of knee pain after Zion, and basically didn't run at all for three weeks, but then really went for it at Northfork.

No pain, no gain?

At mile 32, Jenny was in real pain, and I could tell some self-doubt was creeping in.  She re-fueld, took off, and soldiered on.  I was fearful it might be a while until I saw her at the next aid station.  But man was I wrong.  She had an amazing rally; she picked up her speed, and held a strong and steady effort to the finish.  A very experienced ultra runner, Rick Rochelle, told me before the Bear 100 to remember that "things always get better".  I've believed him, and so far its held to be true, and Jenny's gutsy run was just another example of this mantra being true.

Finishing strong

All smiles at the end

 This was technically Jenny's first "ultra marathon" race, and there was an award for the first place "first time ultra runner" which Jenny picked up with a time of 10:52.

Lastly, we celebrated the 4th of July in Lander, which is about he coolest party ever.

Lander Fireworks: We take this shit seriously.  Photo by Bryce Giesmann

Lander Pioneer Days Rodeo

Moccasin Lake Challenge

The Moccasin Lake Challenge was hands down the most unique running event I've ever been a part of.  The race director, Mikey Chingman, was very clear that this was not a race, but it was a challenge; a spiritual run to challenge yourself on the mountain; to run for your loved ones both present and departed; to spend a day on the mountain discovering who you are.  There was no first place or last place.

Well over 100 runners and even more community members at the start

The run was supposed to start at 10am, but to be frank, in typical Native style we didn't start running until 11:30, but that was OK.  We didn't start for an hour and a half because there was a ceremony honoring "Bunny" Shoyo, Jr., a Shoshone council member who passed away earlier that year.  Bunny was a strong supporter of running and keeping Shoshone culture alive.  After the the ceremony there was a cedaring (or "smudging") for the whole group.  Cedar smoke was wafted over all of the runners and prayers were said in Shoshone.  Four different songs were played by the Fort Washakie Ramblers, which is one of the local traditional singing and drumming groups.  To top it all off, before heading to the starting line everyone got in a circle and did a round dance.  Yep, you had to dance before you ran. At the starting line, everyone was given some cedar and sage to take with them on the run for protection.

"Honor Song" for Bunny Shoyo

Me and my BFF at the start

The road to Moccasin Lake is a typical mountain road; rocks and ruts of every shape and size, long switchback with big drop off at every turn; sticky mud still from melting snow.  Another fun part of the event is that you did not have to stay on the road.  Since it was not a race, runners were allowed to cut switchbacks or take whatever shortcuts you wanted.  I ran the whole way with Evan and we stuck to the road to get all 18 miles in, but some people ran as few as 14 miles due to their shortcuts!  Either way, we all climbed over 4,000 feet and ended up at beautiful Moccasin Lake and had a great day in the mountains.

Getting up there

Throughout the day the skies looked threatening, and it looked as if thunderstorms would give the runners a cold and cruel shower at any moment, but the skies held of, as least where we were.  The run to Moccasin Lake is beautiful, with views of mountain meadows and alpine peaks, still blanketed in snow, at every turn.  Aid along the way was fantastic, with people driving by in pick-up trucks regularly offering water and Gatorade.  Several other drum groups were set up along the way as well, with their drum beats matching our heartbeats as we steadily climbed up the mountains.

Storm clouds looming in exposed terrain

Arriving at Moccasin Lake was fantastic; volunteers were already cooking burgers and 8-years old's were piled on four-wheelers and ripping through the mud.  We were pleasently surprised at our race swag too; thick, high quality Under Armour pullovers with a cool logo.  These were especially appreciated because it was cold up there above 9,000 feet.

Evan and I at the still frozen Moccasin Lake

At the beginning of the run, Mikey said it was mandatory that you got a ride back down on the back of someone's truck.  He said the idea behind this is so that you can see where you ran, and so you could be humbled.  He wasn't kidding; the ride back down was humbling, and a blast.

What the hell is all back here? Thanks for the ride!

View from the back of the truck on the way down... notice the foot prints on the left

The chicks enjoying the ride down

I was almost bounced out of the truck only once, and now my pack has a few oil stains on it from the bed of the truck, but we had a joyful ride back down cheering on other runners as they continued their journey up the mountain.

If you can, do the Moccasin Lake Challenge next year.  There has been a lot of tension between whites and Natives this past year with the EPA talking about boundaries and huge settlement checks coming out, but the Moccasin Lake Challenge was the perfect way to bring people together.  There was nothing but positive energy, encouragement, and togetherness.

A couple more pictures...

Jenny and Emily cruising into the finish

Chilling at Moccasin Lake, Wind River Indian Reservation

Next up, just over a week until the Zion Traverse.  I'm really liking 2014 so far.