I had the opportunity to be on Vespa’s Food For Thought Podcast. We talk nutrition, life and my experience chasing and setting a new double record of the combined times of Western States 100 and Hardrock 100 with only 19 days between. Giddyup.
Completion of The Double. Photo by Mountain Peak Fitness.
Phew. It’s been a busy 6 months since Leadville. Here’s a recap of my last 6 months to catch up…
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Flagline 50k start
can i buy prednisone over the counter in spain September
Ran Flagline 50k (USATF 50k National Trail Championship). I just turned 40 in August, so went into it gunning for the master’s title and got it by just a few minutes. Battled Mark Lundblad and pulled it out by 2 minutes after rolling my ankle badly in the last mile and hobbling across the finish in 4:02. Good day.
October
Laid low, took some time off and let my ankle heal from Flagline. Took a family vacation to the Redwoods in Northern California. Was super bummed my ankle was mangled, as the trails there would be off the hook. Took another trip to see family in Seattle durning the month. Also was able to squeeze in some late season mountain biking before the snow started flying.
Bronco vs. SUV = 3 pins
November
Had just started training again when I was had a bike wreck commuting to work. I was commuting to work on my bicycle early morning on Nov. 10 following traffic (2 vehicles) in the roundabout, when a car did not yield entering the roundabout. I was one car length behind the SUV when the 2 vehicles in front of me came to a screeching halt to avoid hitting the person that did not yield (pulled in front of them). I crashed into the back of the SUV in front of me at 20 mph. My left hand hit first and broke plastic off the back of the SUV, jack-knifing my bike front end and slamming left ribs/shoulder into the back of the SUV. I broke my left hand and cracked a rib. The hand required surgery and 3 pins and a cast. While I was on the pavement, everyone in the line, drove off. Thankfully, 2 super cool fireman on their way to work pulled over and helped me.
December
Still dealing with broken hand and rib. Slowly able to start running again, after 5 weeks on stationery bike and treadmill. Nice to be back outside running.
The 5th Annual Bad Ass 50k ended up being a cold one. It was 17 degrees at the start with about 2-4 inches of snow on the ground in the Horseridge area, east of Bend, Oregon. The Cinder Butte had a little more off the NW ridge ATV trail section, complete with a few wind lips that made for a couple of drop offs you could jump and get air off of (little heal grab or something fancy). Due to the cold conditions, we only had 4 finish the 50k this year. However, I was surprised to see a a big group show up to run the other distances (9, 13, 22 milers).
50k Finishers
1) Maximus, 4:01
2) Bronco Billy, 4:32
3) Slayer, 4:42
4) Fatboy, 5:47
I have a 100 miler coming up in March and wanted to use this as a 3-day training block for some good volume ending with this run on tired legs. So, I squeezed in 4 runs in a 51 hour window totaling 60 miles. Felt pretty good considering. All in all a great day. Here’s a little video highlight. Giddyup!
Rod and I ran the Bad Ass loop so I could mark it this afternoon. A bit nippy out today…20 degrees at 2pm with good wind…BRISK BABY!! Conditions are not bad considering the solid winter we’re getting in Central Oregon. About 2-4 inches of snow on the course, but double track has nice hardpacked 4WD tracks in the snow to run on. The Cinder Butte NW Ridge ATV trail descent is blown in and has several layers of snow…maybe 6-12″ in most spots. Will be fun downhill tomorrow. Here’s a little video of our run today…I’m stacking up the mileage getting ready for Coyote Two Moon 100 miler in March. After Badass 50k tomorrow, I should squeeze in 60 miles in a 50 hour window in 4 runs…8.5, 4.4, 16, and 31 miles respectively. Giddyup!
I headed to Seattle for the holidays and met up with Justin Angle, Bill Huggins, Bryan Estes, and Angle’s dog Piper for a 16 mile trail run on Tiger Mountain just east of Seattle. Perfect weather with some clearing and got to see the moon, as we started out with headlamps and summited just as the sun was coming up. Awesome training run. Nice to just be in mud and out of the snow for a few days.
I’ve been quietly back training starting in October and so busy with work, not much time to write. Snow is in full effect in Central Oregon and I’ve been running with studs now for a few weeks. Here’s a look at this year’s Screw Your Shoes flyer…we’ve already held two clinics to winterize some shoes for runners in town.
Scott Wolfe, Dave Bowman and I did a little dawn patrol run from the Badlands out to the Bad Ass 50k loop. Little inch dusting of snow and 18 degrees at the 7:30am start, but blue bird skies and the sun rose to give us quite a brilliant sight with the fresh white stuff, plus frost. Top of Cinder Butte really gave us spectacular views of the clear and snow clad Cascade Range. Awesome morning.
Local Jingle Bell 5k tomorrow…think I burned a few matches today on the long run with the boys, but I’ll still try to turn it over tomorrow. Giddyup.
1:30am after a very rainy night run
Time to taper for Bighorn. I’ve had a solid spring of training and great tune-up races and I’m feeling more fit than ever going into my 4th Bighorn 100 in 12 days. Complete with a 70 day streak of no days off in March and April and a great tune-up effort at Silver State 50 miler. I’ve put in some solid training in May, post-Silver State and have to say I’m getting pumped. I love returning to the Wyoming mountains. It’s such a great hometown event. The gnarly singletrack and wildlife. GiddyUP!
On a course conditions note, looks like there is quite a bit of snow still in the high country. 2-3 feet still in the heart of the Bighorns. Interesting to see if we end up on the normal course or if they send us out on the snow course we did in ’08. Whatever works—less than two weeks to go time.
Not sure what you guys do out there for low-impact cross training when letting something heal up, but I’d love to hear some ideas. The bruised foot is healing up, but oh man, 30 minutes on an elliptical trainer is about all I can take, then 20-30 minutes on the stationery bike and I’m out. I’d rather beat my head against a brick wall. Not sure how folks do cardio work in a gym on a regular basis. I’ve been to the gym the last 4 days in a row. I’m doing strength training every other day (core, push-ups, pull-ups, low reps, heavy weight lower body, rows, dead lifts and dips)…which I don’t mind. I used to be a gym rat with regard to lifting when I was in college and I can go for that, it’s just the cardio portion in the gym that drives me crazy. We have 2 inches of slushy snow on the roads right now, so cycling outside is out. I’m counting down the days to get back to running outside, even in the slush. 4 more days. I made a deal with myself go 8 days on elliptical trainer and stationery bike and stay off the bruised foot before running on it again. It’s feeling better, but it’s still there a little. I’m hopeful it will be pretty good in another 4 days. Giddyup.
Well, I overdid it a bit last week and have to back off this week. Last Wednesday and Thursday I did back-to-back runs in the Vibram Five Fingers, with Thursday’s session being a rather quick 5-miler and at night. Then, Friday (about 9 hours after my Thursday night run in the VFFs) I went out and ran 17.5 miles in the Inov8 X-Talon 212s with 5,000 feet of climbing on rocky, technical terrain. I had a little bit of a tender spot where my 2nd toe connects at the ball of my left foot at the tend of my VFF run on Thursday and I think Friday’s burly run was the last straw, as it got tender at about mile 10 on the 1,500 foot rocky descent of Gray Butte. It was okay on Friday’s run, but I woke up Saturday with it pretty darn sore.
I went out Saturday night and only made it a 1/2 mile from my house before I was forced to turn back…1 mile total for the day. Sunday I rested it and by Monday evening was able to run 6.4 with it feeling “okay”—had to break out the beefy, cushy discontinued Nike Zoom S-Works Trail—which felt like bricks.
Today (Tuesday) I ran 5.6 in the AM in the Nike’s and 4.2 in the PM in the New Balance MT100s and iced it after both runs. It’s getting better. Looks like Southern Oregon Fat Ass 50k is out this coming weekend. Oh well, gotta roll with it. I’m going to continue short sessions on it this week to keep my legs moving but allow it to heal. Live and learn. Part of the process of this transition. My first small set-back. Glad it’s only minor. Onward and updward…
I’ve had several questions about my minimalist transition, how to’s, etc. So I thought I’d look back and try to put it in a generalized “how-to” post, based on my experience. With the benefit of hindsight, I put it into a generic 8 week program to be full time in a minimalist shoe in 2 months. I personally made the full transition in 6 weeks, but please keep in mind, I’m an ultrarunner and typically run a minimum of 2000 miles a year, compete in a least 6 ultramarathon races per year and have been doing this for nearly a decade. So, my transition may be a bit quicker than most. However, if you spend time barefoot and re-learn your proper running stride (barefoot), listen to your body and don’t overdue it giving your body time to adapt, I truly believe you can do this. And, it won’t take as long as you might think. Happy natural running!
So, here’s generally the concept behind my transition from the Brooks Launch with a beefy arch support insole (basically an over the counter soft orthotic), to a minimalist 7+ ounce trail flat with just the flat, stock insole it comes with (e.g. NB MT100 or the Inov8 x-talon 212)…
Week 1 and 2:
I started spending time barefoot (around the house, wore Vibram Five Fingers around town to run errands, etc.). If I felt discomfort in my feet or arches, I put on arch supported sandals (Montrail flip-flops, Birkenstocks, etc.) and wore them the remainder of the day (first day was maybe 30 minutes before I put on sandals). I did this mainly around the house. Then, repeated this regimen every day until I could go all day barefoot without discomfort).
During this time, I ran every other run (never back to back days) in a minimalist shoe, half of my normal run time. (Example: if my typical daily run is 1 hour, 6 days a week: I ran every other 3 days in my normal running shoes for 1 hour, and the other 3 days , I bumped back my volume and ran 30 minutes every other day in the minimalist shoe.)
Also, during this time, I rolled my foot and arches on a golf ball every evening and worked on keeping my heel on the floor while picking up and dropping the golf ball repeatedly (at different angles…to the side, straight on, etc.). At first, my arch would cramp and couldn’t even pick it up with my left foot (my weaker foot that pronates more). But with time, I could pick up the golf ball with any of my toes (big toes, outside little toes, etc.). I also worked on curling and flexing and spreading my feet and toes…which I do often when sitting at my computer or driving after long runs back from the trailhead (barefoot).
Week 2 and 3:
By this time, I was spending a lot of non-running time comfortably barefoot. When I did wear casual shoes, I felt constricted and my feet wanted out. I immediately flipped off shoes when I walked in the door. My feet and ankles started feeling stronger…and springy. I started to introduce a Vibram Five Finger cooldown run at the end of my every other 3 day minimalist 30 minute run sessions. First day was 6 minutes in the VFFs and my feet were sore after 6 minutes. I kept adding a few minutes every run in them until I could run a 20 minute cooldown in them comfortably.
In my personal opinion, these were key sessions. This really started to work on proper natural (barefoot) running form required to run in a minimalist shoe and not get injured. That meant working on no overstriding, a midfoot strike, heel kiss the ground slightly, bent knees, running light…really using your leg bend, and ankle/achilles/calf flex to absorb shock. I had some calf/achilles soreness during this period, but I kept stretching consistently and eventually the soreness passed. Plus, remember, these sessions were every other day, so my body had time to heal and adapt before the stress of the next session.
Week 5 and 6:
Still barefoot as much as possible in casual time. I started to gradually increase my minimalist run sessions to more days a week and more time for each run (slowly…no more than 5-10 minutes more each run). I’m only running my once per week long run in my old running shoe set-up and they feel weird and clunky and VERY heavy. I was now running about 40-60 minutes 5+ days a week in the minimalist shoes with a 20 minute VFF cooldowns at the end. In this week, I replaced one of my run days with strictly a VFF run of 30 minutes. I’m having fun and feeling more comfortable in the VFFs and I’m looking forward to the “adventure” in them when I go out. In the 6th week, I do my first VFF “longer” trail run of about 55 minutes (on singletrack with part of it on snow). I have a blast! My feet are slightly tender the last 10 minutes of the run (as it was frozen ground), but they’re fine the next day. I’m now solidly running 3 (sometimes 4) sessions in the VFFs per week in the form of either a long cooldown (15-25 minutes) or at least one run per week as a VFF-only run of 30-50 minutes. The VFFs are in my bag on long run days and I switch into them to wear home after my weekly long trail run. I found that if I put on a shoe, especially after my long run days, my arches and foot get Plantar Fasciitis symptoms. (NOTE: I believe this is because of restricted movement, post-run, as your feet need to stretch out and move and wiggle, just like stretching and shaking out your legs). So, I usually choose to either drive home after long runs completely barefoot, or wear VFFs so they can flex and stretch.
Week 7 and 8:
My minimalist epiphany: Ongoing and required to stay minimalist…barefoot as much as possible in casual time and HAVE to run a few days a week in the Vibram Five Fingers or barefoot (once the weather allows) to keep form dialed in and ongoing strengthening in the lower legs and feet. I think of them as basically form drills.
At this point (as well as moving forward in the future), I’m running at least 2 days a week in the VFFs for barefoot form reminders and general strengthening (plus I wear them around town sometimes for running errands), not counting a cooldown or two…my general rule is 3 sessions per week in them. These VFF running sessions vary from 15-60 minutes, depending on if it’s a cooldown or a recovery run day where I’m strictly in them as my run for the day. During this two week span, I bumped back my long run day to a normal 1 hour run and transitioned ALL my runs in the minimalist shoes. Now over the coming weeks, I start to build my weekly long run (and one other run per week) in order to get my old running volume back in the minimalist footwear.
So, that’s my experience, I just ran a 50k trail race in minimalist shoes and had no issues. I’m totally psyched to be in light shoes and look forward to my time running in the Five Fingers each week. They really, really help form and strength on my easy run days. So, I hope that helps somebody out there free their feet and go minimalist and tap into their natural running form. Have fun and Giddyup!