[mountainmilers] March 2015 Progress Report
- From: Terri Rashid <terri@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "mountainmilers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <mountainmilers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 2 Apr 2015 19:06:26 +0000
My overall March running went about as I had expected. I logged 249 miles,
which is my lowest monthly total so far this year, but a bit better in terms of
mileage than I was anticipating because of travel.
The first half was very low mileage as I was recovering from the Phoenix
marathon, we had some snow on the trails, and then I was on the road / out of
town for 12 days. I actually did not run for 3 of those days (when in Ohio) as
I was really too busy to fit it in comfortably. After that we were skiing, so
I mostly did short runs on the treadmill there. The two exceptions were a
sunny day when I skipped skiing and went for a run up Taylor Fork Rd (dirt,
mud, snow) and the Run to the Pub half marathon down in Bozeman. The Taylor
Fork run/hike was slow, but really pretty with some sections of the road being
dry dirt, but snow all around. Other sections were a bit muddy, and the last
part was a snowmobile packed snow track that was fantastically beautiful.
I treated Run to the Pub as a race effort since I had been on a forced
mini-taper anyway with all of the travel. I ran my fastest half marathon time
in the last 10 years (2:18:14, ave pace 10:33), so I was pleased with that. We
had a stiff headwind at the start, but the weather was otherwise awesome and
the beer and food with friends afterwards definitely made the day.
Right after returning to Arizona, I jumped back into getting mileage. I did
two back-to-back long runs (20 & 21 miles) the first week (week total ~89
miles) and then a 26+ mile run the next week, followed by my first ultra event
of the year, the Crown King Scramble 50K for a second week total of ~87 miles.
I treated CKS as a really hard, supported, training run and managed to improve
upon last year's time by 21 minutes, even though it was hotter & sunnier this
year and I did not taper. My time was 8:04:43, for an average pace of 15:23.
This is a significant net uphill course, so again, another satisfying effort.
Three days after CKS, I did my last long training run/hike prior to the Zion
100K on Apr 10th. This was a run/hike in the Grand Canyon. Down South Kaibab
to Phantom Ranch, then returning up Bright Angel. My GPS read very high on
this (20.25 miles), so I am using 18 miles as the total distance, which is what
I have heard from some locals here. My time was 6:10:33. That gives me an
average pace of only 20:35, which is pretty slow, even though it's a training
run. I have 4570' as the ascent, which works out to be an average of 254'/mi.
This is a slight net descent route as the Bright Angel trailhead is a bit lower
than South Kaibab. It's a hard route for me to make time on the downhill
though because of the stair-step format of the SK trail in many areas, along
with a sandy grit over stone in some areas that makes me slip and feel like I
need to proceed more cautiously. Still, I bettered my time this year by more
than an hour over last fall, but that is in part because I didn't stop and eat
a bagel at the cantina at Phantom Ranch. :)
My mileage total for the second half of the month (Mar 15 through 31) was 200
miles - which is better than I thought I would be able to do in that time.
Looking forward to April I have my first official 100K. Even though I have
covered 100K twice before in events (The Bear 100M and Javelina Jundred 100M),
and even received a 100K belt buckle at JJ100, I do not have an official 100K
finish. My longest official completion is the Grand Canyon Ultras 50M. I
decided it was time that I try to add a 100K completion to my resume. :) I
feel pretty good about my preparation for Zion. I think the max average pace
(19:18) is doable unless it's really hot and sunny. The climbs (on/off the
mesa) are steeper than anything I've done before, but then there are other
sections that will hopefully be more runnable. Since I don't have anything in
training that mimics this kind of course profile it's a bit tough to know how
it will affect me but just based on average ascent per mile it should be within
my capability. Heat and sun are the real factors though. I slow a lot in the
heat, mostly to avoid getting sick / nauseated. So I will go the pace I can
go, and just hope that's good enough.
This month I signed up for another ultra event, the Quad Rock 50M in Colorado
in May. To be honest, my main goal is to get to 25M before the time cutoff for
that distance as they will give a completion in the 25M distance to 50M runners
that either miss a subsequent cutoff or drop after making the 25M. The first
25M loop is 5,500' ascent, with a 6:45 cutoff, or an average pace of 16:12. On
a good day, with perfect weather and a perfect taper, at race effort, I think I
*might* be able to do that pace for 25 miles. :) If I manage that, my goal
will simply be to stay ahead of the cutoffs for as long as possible. In the
event of a minor miracle, I might even finish the 50M (which has a 14:00
cutoff, so 16:47 ave pace) in time. But I'm not counting on it. ;)
I hope your running is going well, and that you have some interesting and
challenging goals ahead of you. :)
Other related posts:
- » [mountainmilers] March 2015 Progress Report - Terri Rashid
