Category: running

Meh…

Success isn’t how far you got, but the distance you traveled from where you started. ~ Steve Prefontaine

1:36, 10 miles, treadmill/track, steady

Today was a bit less than awesome on the running front. I did get the driveway mowed, however, so that was nice. Then I went to the gym and jumped on the treadmill for 1:20 (8 miles). Felt pretty shitty, really… just couldn’t get relaxed or feel any sort of solid rhythm. So I switched over to the track for another 16 minutes or so (2 miles) and called it good. Felt a lot better on the track so maybe next time I’ll start out there then move to the treadmill. Or just strap on some snowshoes and go wander around the woods for 3 hours like I was supposed to.

All in all, it beat sitting on the couch all day so there you go.

So speaking of getting off the couch, here is a video of a Frozen Flash Mob in Grand Central Station:

~stubert.

Back and forth…

Gas brake honk. Honk honk punch. Gas gas gas. ~ Homer Simpson

This week featured some great runs and a lot of commuting to Boulder for running and film festival activities. I am reminded, again, that I do not miss my commute. Surprised? I doubt it.

This year’s festival showcased a lot of great adventures and environmental movies. As a member of the jury, I saw most of these over the course of the past 4 months during screening events to select which movies would ultimately be shown at the festival and would win awards. Some highlights included:

  • Swift. Silent. Deep.
  • No Impact Man
  • First Ascent: Point of No Return
  • Signatures
  • Reporter
  • Making the Crooked Straight

Thursday, I did do a quick run around the neighborhood. Broke out the Vibram FiveFingers for the short spin and I still really like these friggin’ things. Definitely a cool addition to the gear list. Though I don’t ever envision doing anything more than a few miles at a time in them, I do believe that they help reinforce solid mechanics, improve foot and lower-leg strength and stability and provide a nice way to break up training so that a routine run becomes “something different”. I’ll probably work in a little barefoot time in my indoor workouts over the winter (*cough* today *cough*) to help offset the monotony of treadmill and short track laps.

Yesterday, I bailed on the snow to go to the gym and do surges on the treadmill. Mellow XC course for 30 minutes (10-minute pace) then stepped it up for another 10-15 to get in some nice, smooth surges. Felt great, actually. Since we got another foot overnight, I am heading back today to do my long run. Eldora opens this week so I’ll be hitting the XC trails soon and may toss in a snowshoe race or two this winter just for kicks. We’ll see how things progress.

~stubert.

GoLite HydroSpeed pack review…

So much time, so little to do. ~ Willie Wonka

And on the second day, Stu rested. Mondays are typically my rest days so I just kicked it today. I did head to the gym for some circuits but other than that, I laid low. A little sore from yesterday’s adventure but I think most of this is from jumping in the car immediately after running and sitting at a desk most of today. Gotta knock that off.

So in lieu of a long, boring talk about lifting weights, I thought I’d entertain you with a brief review of a hydration pack I have been using for a couple years: the GoLite Hydrospeed Lumbar Pack.

When I ran Leadville in ’07, I alternated between the GoLite Rush and a lumber pack that a buddy loaned me from Ultimate Direction. The UD pack suited me very well for cooler, shorter segments and I grabbed the Rush for the long, warm trek between Treeline and Twin Lakes and outbound over Hope Pass. Honestly, now I would go with the HydroSpeed and a handheld for every section unless it was blazingly hot (and even then, might opt for the lighter set-up regardless). This was what I used on Sunday’s 4-hour run and it was about perfect.

The HydroSpeed is a comfortable, lightweight lumbar pack that is designed to carry two bottles. The UD pack I mentioned earlier (no longer available) had a similar set up: Two bottles, two good-sized pockets and a secure bungee strap for a jacket, spare bottle or whatever else you might need to bring along. The HydroSpeed is even more awesome. GoLite (as you may have guessed) engineers their gear to be very lightweight without compromising comfort or stability and the HydroSpeed fits the bill nicely. The bottle sleeves are positioned well (when cinched-down as much as I like it, they make bottles easy to access but a little tough to remove) and the overall carriage is super comfy and easy to adjust. The dual pockets are perfect for carrying the necessities and I have crammed cool weather gear, food, camera, keys and an iPod in there without feeling overly burdened at all. The pack rides low on one’s hips and the buckle system is very easy to get adjusted to fit snugly without excess wobble.

The pack utilizes the lightest weight clips and buckles but they have held up very well through a LOT of abuse over the past two years. It even has an iPod headphone port and key clip. It does not feature a whistle buckle so if you live in kitty or bear country (or just for safety’s sake), you will want to pick up an emergency whistle to attach to the straps.

The pack weighs in at a scant 450g and retails at $50. This has been my go-to pack for two years now with my Rush relegated to only my longest, unsupported, no-access-to-water-type adventures.

~stubert.

Where’d I go…

Rach has a problem.


Son, you got a panty on your head. ~ Pickup Driver

Hmmm… apparently I haven’t been so great about updating this puppy. Apologies.

I have been super busy with work. We landed some new clients – The Solar Foundation, Strategic Sustainability Consulting, Healthy Chocolate Shop – so getting those projects up and running has kept me busy. I have also been able to run quite a bit and very consistently. Really starting to feel fit again and (gasp!) healthy, even. Good times.

I jammed out to L.A. last weekend to visit the brothers Roach. No agenda, just mellow time at sea level kicking it. We ate some good food and went to a Chivas game and I got in a couple of runs that were damp but fun. It was super warm and humid, even on the West side, and I came back from my “long” run on Sunday completely soaked. It was a quick, fun jaunt out to the nuttiness that is the City of Angels.

Running is going really well. My abdominal pain continues to decrease and I am feeling stronger every week. Did a great run on Wednesday on Boulder’s Mesa trail where I put the hurt on myself for a solid 35 minutes. Parts were way slow but I managed to finish strongly and had a blast. Looking forward to more excitement this weekend with a short run on Saturday and 2:15 on Sunday.

Rach also turned me onto a great book – Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall. Great read and peppered with people and places with which I am familiar making it extra fun. If you are a runner, and particularly an ultra runner, you must check it out.

~stubert.

Fall is ariving with a vengeance…

Play Dream Police, god dammit! ~ Some guy

Rach and I went to a fun party at Cort and Dickie’s place last night. Good times. One over-zealous Cheap Trick fan made our night by shouting requests at Cort’s band. We had to jet before hearing their rendition, however.

Running went really well this past week. Just stuck with the program and made gains all around. Here’s the breakdown:

  • Tuesday: 40 minutes (~4 miles) with slow warm-up and 7 surges
  • Wednesday: 1:15 (about 8.5 miles) with 25 minutes of tempo
  • Thursday: 40 minutes (~4 miles), recovery
  • Saturday: 40 minutes (~4 miles) with slow warm up and 5 surges
  • Sunday: Shooting for 2 hours, mellow (I’ll let you know how that goes)

I also worked with Janet this week and feel like we added some stride elements that are really going to improve things for me. Working really hard on initiating my stride from my hips and that seems to be feeling pretty good. Also got new orthotics made by Russ at Podium and so far, they feel great.

I reacquainted myself with the “crawl space” (in quotes because only someone under the age of about 5 could actually crawl down there) underneath my house and found that the critters are working their magic once again. So I need to redo some insulation and heat tape. Whee. I did get my office phone line working again (critter sabotage), so that is nice. Going to experiment with the Wifi a bit to see if I can improve reception all around and plan on diving back under the abode this week to get things all patched up before winter, which is rapidly approaching.

Enjoy the cool weather and fall colors out there.

~stubert.