Posted by scott on July 15, 2010
I swear I am actually doing some running to prep for the Superior Sawtooth 100. But there is too much other fun stuff to do in Summer that I’m doing a lot of other things too.
Our latest project was a homemade longboard skateboard with custom finishes – including Bones Super Reds bearings. This is such a cush ride, it will glide you right into the sunset!
Good times.
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Posted by scott on July 6, 2010
We are finally getting into some great weather and, as usual, I am distracted with many things other than running. My big plans for the very long runs (30+ miles) get replaced with 3 hour runs and trips to the beach/pool/cabin/lacrosse/etc for family fun. And it’s a great trade!
photo credit: jiaren on flickr
I decided to hit barefooting hard this summer and am doing most runs barefoot, and then some in FiveFingers. I haven’t worn “real” shoes since I crossed the finish line at Zumbro, and I’m having a blast! I have had a few blisters here and there when I took the pace up too fast, but for the most part no problems whatsoever.
I had my real test last week when I carefully packed my running supplies to run home from my son’s lacrosse game in Coon Rapids – hydration pack, S! Caps, food, TP, map, etc. – and then left it all at home when we left in a hurry. I was so bummed when I realized this at the game! But then I got to thinking… I had put my running shorts on under my clothes for an easy change afterwards, and I had worn my Garmin. I had a phone, wallet, and sandals – did I really need anything more? No! So I kissed wifey goodbye and hit the pavement barefoot for 18 miles home. I carried my sandals to put on for buying aid in stores and chowed my way home. The pace was slow and my feet were pretty tender when I got home, but it was an exciting experience to go that far barefoot. No blisters, cuts, etc. No sore muscles, joints, etc. I had been waiting to clear 30 miles before signing up for Sawtooth, but after that run, I’m all in!
My summer is also filed with cross training and I love it. A lot of people say there really is no cross training for running, but I believe otherwise. I think anything balance oriented is great cross training. I have been hitting the wakeboard (no crashes this year), and doing a bit of yoga.
I also picked up an Indo Board and am loving it. It’s way more interesting to me than the bosu ever was, and it looks cooler! 
Its been hard to get the hang of it but I’m up to doing 15 uninterrupted full squats now. Next up – hanging 10!
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Posted by scott on June 2, 2010
Photos from an early morning 13 miler last Monday say it all. What’s not to love about scenery like this? I will take this over pavement any day.
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Posted by scott on November 14, 2009
I was speaking at the Enterprise 2.0 conference in San Francisco a couple weeks back, and preceded it by spending the day with some field reps in the East Bay area. I had researched a number of the NorCal Pacific Coast Trail Run course maps and locations, and even printed out a couple Google Maps thinking I might be able to sneak out of downtown SF for some trail running. But I gradually accepted that long days and early sunsets would mean no trails this trip. Right before leaving the hotel Monday morning, I quickly decided to just throw in my Five Fingers, some running wear, GPS, a towel, etc. just in case… you never know. Man am I glad I did!
As luck would have it we ended the day just a tad early out in Walnut Creek. I had noticed some signs for Mt. Diablo State Park on the drive into the hills. After we shut down for the day I dove into my travel folder and dug out one of my Google Maps, remembering that PCTR hosts a Fall event at Mt. Diablo. What luck!
With GPS backing I was at the trailhead in about 15 minutes. If only I had printed out the course maps before I gave up on my trail running dreams for the trip, I could have run the race route. Fortunately, there was a good map at the trailhead, and trails are very well marked. I didn’t have a lot of time and didn’t want to get lost on a big loop, so I quickly settled on an out and back up Eagle Peak on the Mitchell Rock Trail.
The trails were in great shape and the views were beautiful. Sunset provided mesmerizing shadows and amusing but easily tolerable temperature differences between the valleys and the peaks. The weather was absolutely perfect for an evening run and a light breeze wafted sage and juniper aromas.
Terrain varied a lot from sideslope traverses to ridge backbones to bizarre tunnels through thicket you had to duck under. Most of the trail was a nice flat narrow gravel, with occasional rocky outcrops that reminded me of the Superior Trail. I was a bit worried about making it out of the park in time to avoid the threatened lock in at sunset so I stopped for some photos but tried to keep moving on the way up. I managed to summit the 2400 ft. Eagle Peak in 51 mins, which was a pretty good clip for me. I saw the only other runner just descend the far side as I summitted. I brief break for the views, and I started the descent at a full, quad-pounding clip.
I made it down in plenty of time for a total of around 6 miles. My quads were screaming by the time I got down and it felt great. The Walnut Creek folks are lucky to have a park like this in their back yard – I would love to camp with the family through smaller state parks like this someday, a lot more appeal in many ways than the packed National Parks.
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Posted by scott on October 5, 2009
Image credit: amfdesigner on flickr
I have recently become fascinated with Parkour (sometimes referred to as “free running”). I know in internet-meme-time I’m like 3 years behind the curve, but so what. I first heard about this in a Trail Runner article awhile back, and I have to say I rolled my eyes. It almost seemed invented for print, I didn’t get that there was a whole movement around this thing, and some more interesting aspects that were missed. Then a Rocketboom segment came along and I was a bit more intrigued. Finally, I fell off my chair laughing at the Parkour scene from The Office. OK, I’m getting the signal – I need to look into this.
Parkour is briefly described as the art of overcoming obstacles in the most efficient way possible. Like anything, it has morphed into many sub-genres that span a spectrum from running combined with vaulting to street-based floor gymnastics to jumping buildings with multiple flips. I will leave the building flips to others to thin the herd, but the most basic movements in Parkour are very appealing as a training tool for trails and ultras.
When basic Parkour is done well, you almost look like a fugitive. The intent is to move very rapidly, as if in an emergency situation, and vault or otherwise clear obstacles rather than traversing around them. Free running seems to emphasize freedom and creativity. Parkour emphasizes directness, efficiency and economy.
There are a few basic vaulting techniques – Lazy, Speed, Kong, and Dash – that are foundational to Parkour and are used almost constantly. These are the easiest techniques to start integrating into running, along with Wall Runs and Tic Tacs. The great thing about these is that it turns a normal run into a heavier workout, adding core strength, balance and impact landings. For a guy like me who loves to run races like Superior but just doesn’t take the time to put in laps at Afton this a great training technique. I can pound my quads right in my own neighborhood! It’s also very Crossfit-ish – you can get a very short but very intense workout in. Do you remember the old fitness trail concept where some city parks added exercise equipment on the route? Adam was recently onto a similar idea of adding obstacles and exercises on a course at RTA. Sounds like a blast.
There is a lot of noise around Parkour, but here are a few resources I found useful:
There are a million videos of Parkour on YouTube. Here are a few I found most interesting. These are more along the running side of thing than the gymnastic side of things.
Posted in FiveFingers, Parkour, Training | 1 Comment »
Posted by scott on July 7, 2009
I recently discovered Silent Sports magazine after I was asked to write an article on volunteering at the Superior Trail Races last Fall and training for the 50 mile race this year. This is a cool Midwest-based magazine about non-motorized outdoor activities, definitely worth a look. It’s available at REI (at least the Minnesota stores).
My article is in the July issue, which is now available, and is also online.
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Posted by scott on June 18, 2009
I am starting to get addicted to balance training, and might have gone off the deep end. I picked up a bosu first and like it, but it’s just a big too big to store where I can easily use it. I next picked up a heavy ball and spend TV time in the evenings standing on top of it (with breaks). It’s incredibly simplistic, but fun. You can really feel all of the little-muscles-you-didn’t-know-you-have working together to keep you on the ball. It’s also a great foot strengthening exercise, and a nice complement to barefoot/minimal shoe running.
So I thought with summer happening I would take the fun outside, and I picked up a unicycle and some Freeline skates. I got good deals on Craigslist on both, because they are incredibly difficult to learn, and a lot of people throw in the towel. I’m at the pre-natal stages of learning both, but it’s fun. Again, I can definitely feel the micro-muscles working and this is cross-training works muscles I KNOW I don’t use at anything else.
If nothing else, I think its exciting to leave the comfort zone and try something challenging and new. Even if these are goofball things to try, they are stretch goals for me nonetheless and will require patience and physicial training to become proficient. And that’s its own reward.
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Posted by scott on May 18, 2009
Did I ever mention that I love the Superior Hiking Trail?
I am still trying to fight my way through this lame injury that keeps dragging on, and have been desperately yet gradually trying to ramp up my mileage. Heading up to SHT was really a stretch from where I was at with Spring training, but what a blast it was. I drove up Friday night and pitched my tent at Temperance River in a light mist before catching the pre-race briefing for the Spring Superior Trail Races. I had a nice chat with Zach Pierce, meeting him for the first time after trading emails. By the time I got back towards the tent it was pouring, so I opted for a warm dinner at Bluefin, and then arrived at camp to find my tent leaking and water dripping on my sleeping bag! Quick fix to the rain fly and I fell asleep reading More Fire (more on that in a future post).
I got to Caribou Highlands in time to mingle a bit before the 50k start at 7:00am. I met Steve Quick and Keith and chatted with each of them a bit. The start of the 50k cracked me up and reminded me why I love the trail running and ultra scene – it’s so informal. They momentarily delayed the start to let a guy finish tying his shoes! The runners took off and I killed time around the lodge, officially checked in for the race, and ate in my car. In the last few minutes before the start while warming up inside I randomly started chatting with a guy who then mentioned that he likes to run in FiveFingers, what are the odds of that. We ended up running the first couple miles together.
Overall it was a great race. The wind was whipping like crazy, but that was only a problem on the road at the start and finish and on the tops of the mountains. Otherwise it was a perfect weather day, and a bit of snow even made it fun. The hills were as difficult as I remembered, but I loved every step. The only small issue I had was a bit of quad cramping after I had a slipped step on a root. I took another S! cap and had no more issues.
A great run, and finished in 2:48, much better than my training run last Fall.
While hanging around the finishing line watching the 50k finishers roll in, I met Julie Berg and got to thank her for the referral to Jenna Boren for ART. And a huge thank you to all of the volunteers, it takes a lot to put on these races. Everyone on race day was great, and thanks especially to the crews who went up for 2 weekends before the race to clear the SHT from Spring ice storm aftermath. Thanks everyone! I was a volunteer last Fall, and I highly recommend it if you are not going to run an event.
Tim had to miss the race, but showed up later in the day and I sort-of crewed him running the reverse route starting and finishing at Oberg, which might just be an easier direction. He had a great run, and was so excited starting out that he accidentally ran the Oberg Mountain loop trail – both the short and long hikes – before getting onto the real trail! Bonus 1.8 miles.
I loved the race but I was almost more looking forward to running this segment from the Fall course, which is supposed to be one of (or the?) nastiest. This was a fantastic run, perfect weather the whole time. The first 2-3 miles are frankly not runnable – it’s more of a power hike, where you can run about 10 feet of flat here and there before you are ascending or descending. Here is some evidence:
At times you can barely tell where the trail is. The ascents and descents are amazing quad-burners:
And then after 3-4-ish miles it finally opens up into a variety of runnable terrain – boggy boardwalks, grass, pine needles. This was a beautiful segment to explore and I’m really glad we went with this plan rather than trying to tough out the 50k on low training. It was a great chance to see another section from Fall and fill out my awareness of what this trail brings.
Finished this 10-miler in 2:12, which I feel really good about after being sore from Saturday, low training, and the type of terrain.
Great camping, great training weekend and a lot of fun. Some learnings from training:
I don’t have any more definite race plans until the Fall races. Would be great to get another weekend of training runs in on the SHT, but don’t know if my schedule will allow. But I’m psyched up and committed to the 50 now, as long as my recovery keeps going in a positive direction.
More pictures from the weekend are on flickr (will be adding details later).
UPDATE: here are the GPS tracks from the weekend runs
Saturday
Sunday
Posted in Races, Training | 5 Comments »
Posted by scott on May 7, 2009
Our dog Nessie is a hard-core runner. She absolutely loves our runs and is incredibly attuned to the slightest sign that a run might be coming up. If I’m checking my bag before going to work the next day, she comes from anywhere in the house as soon as she hears the zipper. Any time I touch running shoes (tidying them up in the closet, etc.), she is at my side. Any now with our early morning long runs, any time I get up early she is following me around the house, just in case. When a run is definitely imminent – running gear on, shoes on, GPS on – she whines and wimpers until we are out the door.
She is tons of fun on the trail. She is constantly back and forth to be out front and then back to say hi. She’s in and out of the woods flushing grouse and deer. I put my old GPS on her last weekend and when I did 11.7 miles, she did 13.4. She keeps looking back at me like she’s thinking “I can’t believe we get to do this!”
In town is still fun for her, but a bit more of a struggle for me. She is constantly pulling me forward – it takes 3-4 miles for her to settle down into a comfortable pace. I finally discovered that an extending leash, which I hate from a dog-training standpoint, is the most comfortable leash to hold even when she pulls. I also try to hit trail areas early morning, when she can be off leash.
We had our biggest run-in (literally) a couple weekends ago when I painfully learned the hazards of barefoot-style running and dogs. I was halfway into a 10-miler and things were going great in my FiveFingers when she suddenly darted in front of me. My foot was swinging forward and I kicked her leg hard. Fortunately for her, the VFFs meant she was OK but my foot erupted in instant pain. I came to a full stop and shared some vocal thoughts for a few moments. For the rest of that weekend I was sure it was broken! Xray on Monday confirmed no fracture, so we are again on speaking terms.
The highlight for Nessie is when we get home, and she gets a raw egg (or more depending on distance). She never lets me forget it, and follows me around the house until it’s in her dish (a polite small whine here and there to remind me). It’s a little ritual I started after we first started running and I would get really crabby with all of her pulling. I decided I needing to reset my attitude, so I started calling her “Coach” on the run and an egg for a treat when we got home. I’m still kind of wondering if this is what she really likes about the run – just the egg!
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Posted by scott on April 14, 2009
We had a great Spring weekend at the cabin last weekend – perfect, perfect weather. I got out for 2 great trail runs, both turned out to be longer than planned. So I’m recovering this week from a probably-too-aggressive increase in mileage (I am supposed to be nurturing an injury). But it was too fun!
Saturday morning I went for what I thought was an 8 mile that turned out to be 10.5. I went first thing in the morning and the dry parts of the trail were very firm and fast, but plenty of ice slowed me down. Sunday I decided I would be “smart” and go later in the day when it would be warmer and not so icy. My 5-6 mile plan turned out to be an 8 miler and it was wet, muddy, slushy, slick, snowy, icy – I think just about everything! It was again slow and I was feeling gassed from Saturday (this was my first back to back of long runs). Walked lots of uphills and called small inclines uphills so I could walk them. But it was again a blast, and fun to be outside in the Spring! Nessie loved every minute:
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