Journey to Leadville - Byrne - January 31, 2012

200 days until the 2012 Leadville Trail 100 Mile Run...

I found this logo on Google images - it is for a business networking group - I just liked the logo and the illustration of the number 200

Only 200 days :o(  Bittersweet thought :o) :o(  We have worked hard to this point and all the training has put us so much closer to being ready for this monster. It has been and will continue to be satisfying to look back upon what we have accomplished. I'm getting excited to be in Leadville again. On the other hand, the more days we have to train, the more opportunities we have to become better prepared - it is comforting knowing that we have many days ahead to continue preparing - but like life, they keep ticking away. In addition, I must say I am really enjoying getting into better shape and spending time with many amazingly positive people along the way. 

Rested Thursday, Friday, Sunday and  Monday. Didn't intend to rest on Friday or Monday but had put my back against the wall in preparing to teach a class for the Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center for the US Army and needed the preparation time - so I canceled out on Rick on Friday AND Monday - I am worried he may fire me as his training partner. So....other than running 16 miles on Saturday I was pretty idle for the past 6 days or so. My legs felt really fresh this morning - maybe there is some wisdom in resting the body to help us work out at a higher level and avoid injury.

This morning's power walking workout was wonderful (thanks John DeDoncker) - arguably our best yet. We ratcheted it up from last Tuesday and I thought last Tuesday was a good one. Offering you a side by side comparision....

** gotta run to have lunch with my wife Joan! back to update in a little bit :o) **

I'm back - great lunch! Had a healthy sandwich and nice conversation with Joan

Time                         January 31st                           January 24th
0-30 min                   Level 4.0  Incline 12.0            Level 3.7  Incline 12.0
30-35 min                 Level 4.0  Incline 12.5            Level 3.8  Incline 12.0
35-40 min                 Level 4.0  Incline 13.0            Level 3.9  Incline 12.0
40-45 min                 Level 4.0  Incline 13.5            Level 4.0  Incline 12.0
45-50 min                 Level 4.1  Incline 13.5            Level 4.0  Incline 12.5
50-55 min                 Level 4.2  Incline 13.5            Level 4.0  Incline 13.0
55-60 min                 Level 4.3  Incline 13.5            Level 4.0  Incline 13.5

Bench Press - 2 sets of 12 at 155 lbs

The numbers don't look too dissimilar but those of you who have walked steep inclines for extended periods of time can appreciate the challenges of ratcheting up speed and incline. Today was a great move forward on the powerwalking workout. I'm especially proud that our difficulty increased on the back half of the workout and we did it without rest. Look out Hope Pass - we're coming to get you! 

Another memorable quote from Ken Chlouber (I'm not sure how many he has but this is a good one)
"If you make friends with pain at Leadville, you will never be lonely"

Until my next post, have a great day! DIG DEEP!

Journey to Leadville - Byrne - January 28, 2012

203 days until the 2012 Leadville Trail 100 Mile Run...

Katie Gaffney, Chad Uhde, Ben Driscoll, Aaron Maurer, Curt Johnston, & Rick Fountain

This was our running group this morning on our 16.2 mile run.  We were about 4 miles into our 16 mile run - it is still dark but I wanted you to see some of the faces of those who inspire us - it makes it really easy to run early in the morning when you have other great people to run with. This group of 7 (I was taking the picture) is the largest running group we've ever had - it was a blast! My mileage measurement conflicts with what a few of our runner's Garmins said (15.7 miles) - I use http://www.mapmyrun.com/ to track our route. but hey, what's a half mile between friends? It's always nice to run farther but when the running goes beyond a couple hours, I don't care a whole lot about running a mile or two farther or shorter - it's about the time on feet, staying healthy, and having the feeling that you can continue on. You can see our route at the following link   http://www.mapmyfitness.com/routes/view/66353778/?new_route=1

I am feeling extremely good about today. We didn't go super long. We didn't go super fast. We did have great company and we did have a lot of laughs and good conversation. My body feels perfectly fine. Following the run I felt tremendous satisfaction because I think I could have continued on for quite some time before feeling fatigued. I don't write this to scoff at a 16 mile run (I certainly feel that is a great day whenever I run 16 miles). I feel great satisfaction because today's run was a run that we would have struggled to finish in September, yet today it seemed like a pretty easy run - which it was, relatively speaking. Remember we just finished back to back marathons last weekend so a 2:30 run today seemed lighter by comparison.

As long as I have their pictures posted I might as well tell you about them...

Katie Gaffney is a Language Arts teacher at Bettendorf Middle School. This is the 2nd time Katie has run with us. She has coached two of my sons in cross country and I can't wait for her to coach my daughter in track. She is so kind and supportive - the kind of coach every parent wishes their children would have. She's an accomplished runner - having run the Boston Marathon already. You might think we invited her to run to increase the aesthetic appeal of the photo. True as that may be, she's a great runner and I always enjoy being around her. I knew her mother-in-law for more than 10 years before she and her husband were born - which suggests to you that I'm getting pretty old!

Chad Uhde is a Science teacher and the Athletic Director at Bettendorf Middle School. You can follow Chad's blog at http://onthepositivesideofthingsornot.blogspot.com/  Chad has done several runs with us - he reached an all time high a few weeks back by going 20 miles with us - that was a day to remember. Sometime in the near future he will go at least 26.2 miles with us on a training run and achieve the marathon goal he once thought was not attainable.

Ben Driscoll is an Art teacher at Bettendorf Middle School. This was Ben's first run with us and we hope to have him back in the future. In addition Ben coaches multiple sports at the middle school and is the Assistant Girl's Basketball Coach. He played basketball in high school and college and is still extremely talented on the basketball court. It is fun to play with him because he pushes the ball up court, is always making hustle plays, and is an outstanding passer. He has a phenomenal and admirable set of personal values and is a perfect role model for others.

Aaron Mauer teaches in the Talented and Gifted programs at Bettendorf Middle School. You can follow his blog at http://coffeeforthebrain.blogspot.com/ It is ranked as the 13th best blog site for triathalon training - congrats Aaron! Aaron coaches a variety of sports for the middle school and has been extremely regimented in his training. He is competing in an indoor triathalon tomorrow and will be completing a half Ironman in Wisconsin this summer.

Curt Johnston is a former student of mine at St. Ambrose. He played basketball for the Fighting Bees but has turned his interest toward running - knocking off Bix 7's and marathons regularly, posting some very good times. This year he plans to run a sub 50 minute Bix and I have all the confidence in the world that he will. Curt has not been running long distances lately so the increase from 9 miles last weekend to over 16 miles this weekend was quite admirable. I told him to go soak his legs in cold water for 5 minutes if they hurt after he arrived at home. Expectedly, Curt's legs were heavy at the end of the run. But he persevered and finished - he did great. Afterwards he was very grateful to us and mentioned that running with us was the primary reason he finished the 16 miles. It felt good to see in his face and hear in his voice how much he felt we helped him knock it out.

Rick Fountain - you all know about Rick if you've read my blog. You can go back a few days and see all of the great things about Rick. When going out on the first loop I asked all of the others if they were joining us on the second loop - except Rick. I didn't ask him because I can't give a guy who is running Leadville the opportunity to cut a workout short :o)

I plan to write more on this blog later today but have to run now to help load some vans with raffle prizes and auction prizes for a Chili Cookoff to benefit Hand in Hand, an organization dedicated to helping children with physical and mental disabilities and their families.  This annual event is held at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds at the Starlite Ballroom. The 2012 event is today from 3-7 pm - $8 at the door - you get to sample more than 30 different types of chili - it's a lot of fun and it is for a great cause.  http://www.handinhand.org/

The Chili Cook Off was awesome - had an even better turnout this year than last! Thanks Rick for bringing your family and brother-in-law's family.
Until my next post, have a great day! DIG DEEP!

Journey to Leadville - Byrne - January 25, 2012

206 days until the 2012 Leadville Trail 100 Mile Run...

Today was another stair workout day at Bettendorf High School. Had to take this picture in the afternoon since when we run it in the morning it is usually dark.  Bettendorf High School Football Stadium - home of the Bulldogs - 7 time 4A Iowa State Champions.

Rick and I did 75 sets today - 4 sets of 10, 1 set of 15, and 1 set of 20. I really feel like our legs are adapting to this type of training and think we could have kept going for a while longer. I'm not sure I would have felt the same way back in August or September. We run these every Tuesday or Wednesday so if you are interested, let us know - we'd love to have you join us. Our workouts on average last an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes. On an earlier post, Art had asked me how many steps there were, how high they were, and how deep they were. So today I brought a yardstick to the stadium and measured! Not every step is identical - somebody call the contractor! But there are 72 steps - each step is about 6" high and the distance is about 15" deep. Total distance up per trip is approximately 36 feet and total distance forward is about 90 feet. A typical stair workout of 75 stairs translates to 2700 feet up and 6750 feet out. I don't know what that translates to in terms of grade but I may look it up with our friend Mr. Google. We do get a break at the top of every trip, which is much more forgiving than Hope Pass :o) The climb to Hope Pass as 3400 feet on the front side and a little less on the back side. The distance forward on the front side is approximately 10600 feet and perhaps 8000 feet on the back side. If you read Jennifer's race journal I posted last week, she writes about Hope Pass having a grade of 18% on the front side and 21% on the back side.

Until my next post, have a great day! DIG DEEP!

Journey to Leadville - Byrne - January 24, 2012

207 days until the 2012 Leadville Trail 100 Mile Run....

This is Hagerman Road, about 16 miles into the race and 84 miles on the way back. Runners climb uphill on this road on the way up to Sugarloaf Mountain early in the morning within an hour or so after sunrise. Like most of the course, it is beautiful - note the mountains in the background and the tall evergreens off to the side.

Following our 2nd marathon on Sunday I was craving liquids and spent the rest of the day pumping water, gatorade, lemonade, and juice into my body. I ate some but not all that much. The past few days 2 of my sons had the flu and by Sunday night it had passed onto me. By the time Sunday night was over, most of the liquid I had consumed decided to leave my body the same way it came in. My stomach actually felt a lot better after that but the achiness started to settle into my legs. I was thankful that we had agreed to take Monday off from working out following our back to back marathons. So Monday was a rest day and my legs continued to ache most of the day. I didn't feel much like eating which was good in the sense that I've been trying to lose weight. Sunday night I weighed in at 195 lbs - 1 pound under my week's goal of 196 lbs. Next Sunday's goal is 194 lbs - I'll report back on this after the weekend.

This morning Rick and I met at the Y for a power walking workout today. We did go a little easier on the incline and a little easier on the speed; however we cut out rest entirely and gradually increased the difficulty over the course of the workout so I believe it was a step forward. Again I felt a little guilty looking around seeing other people running faster on the treadmill but they were also not at an incline of 12.

0 - 30:00            Incline 12 Level 3.7
30:00 - 35:00     Incline 12 Level 3.8
35:00 - 40:00     Incline 12 Level 3.9
40:00 - 45:00     Incline 12 Level 4.0
45:00 - 50:00     Incline 12.5 Level 4.0
50:00 - 55:00     Incline 13.0 Level 4.0
55:00 - 60:00     Incline 13.5 Level 4.0

The benchpresses were all in use so we decided to knock out a few sets of dumbbell bench presses

3 sets of 12 - 55 lb dumbbells

I was quite pleased that from 30:00 - 60:00 we continued to make the workout more difficult and we did all this without rest. We continue to build the strength in our legs and I am confident that the next time we powerwalk we will be able to increase the difficulty of the workout. By the end of the workout I also discovered that all of the achiness had left my body. I can confidently say that the flu I experienced was a 24-36 hr flu. The rest of the house appears to be healthy too!

Until my next post, have a great day! DIG DEEP!

Journey to Leadville - Byrne - January 22, 2012

209 days until the 2012 Leadville Trail 100 Mile Run...

Rick Fountain

Most people define Superman as 6' 2" 225 lbs, faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive and can leap tall buildings with a single bound - that's in the comic books of course. The man pictured above is about as close as you can get outside of the comic books. I've had the privilege of knowing him for the past 15 years and have worked out with him regularly for almost 2 years. I can't think of another person I've met who is really good at so many things. Rick was an All-American linebacker on the St. Ambrose University football team in college. Another All-American basketball player at St. Ambrose told me Rick would have been an excellent college basketball player. I know this first hand as I've played basketball with and against him as well. The combination of strength, quickness, intelligence, game sense, work ethic, and endurance he possesses is rare indeed. In addition, he is a star at work with his company W.W. Grainger, a loyal friend, a great family man married to a wonderful wife Jeannie, and dad to four adoring children - Tristan, Tylar, Ashley, and Kayla. To top it off, he is the nicest, most polite, humblest, and kindest person you could ever imagine meeting. Rick is the perfect workout partner, as I've said in earlier posts. He will try anything, doesn't give up, and has incredible resolve - I'm certain that has much to do with all the success he has earned. Today was a significant training day and most appropriate that I spend some time writing about him.

Today's workout was running a second marathon following yesterday's marathon. Over the past two days we logged nearly 53 miles - more than we have ever run since starting Leadville 2012 training. Prior to September 1st the furthest Rick had ever run was about 11 miles. Over the past 5 months he has run 7 marathons in our training runs! I remember in mid September when we talked about him achieving the goal of running a half marathon. I knew in my mind that a marathon would follow shortly thereafter - which it did.

I have appreciated all the people who have worked out with me but Rick is there all the time regardless of weather, time of day or night, location, distance, or rigor of workout. Before he signed up for Leadville he had committed to doing all the workouts I was doing. I think it is hard enough knowing they are for the race I'm preparing for. He was doing the workouts just to be a friend and support me. I'm glad he did sign up for Leadville and predict he will be one of the few people who successfully finish Leadville on their first attempt.

Congratulations Rick on an admirable weekend of long distance running! And thanks for being a great workout partner.

Until my next post, have a great day! DIG DEEP! 

Journey to Leadville - Byrne - January 21, 2012

210 days until the 2012 Leadville Trail 100 Mile Run...

This is known as "Powerline", appropriately named as you will note the electrical wired poles lined from the bottom to the top of Sugarloaf Pass. This is the view where you will come down from the top near mile 20 and climb from the bottom near mile 80. You can run down it in less than 15 minutes but plan on climbing for an hour on the way back. The elevation at the top of Sugarloaf Pass is 11,300 feet and it is the second most difficult climb in the race, although the climb takes place nearly 25 miles after descending Hope Pass. One must be careful on the descent as running it too quickly can trash the quadricep muscles, increase your chance for injury, and risk the danger of going forward in a dangerous somersault. I remember running down it in 2005 and actually zigzagging back and forth to slow myself down. The climb back up has four false summits - which is why racers are advised to look at their watch instead of what they think they see as the top. Another peril of Powerline is the risk of attracting lightning during thunderstorms.

Today was a great day. We ran 26.4 miles in cold temperatures and through some sidewalks that hadn't been plowed yet. We started at 4:30 a.m. this morning - Rick and I were joined by Aaron Maurer, Chad Uhde, Katie Gaffney, and Chrt Johnston during different parts of today's workout. The run went well. Our legs began to tire toward the end but we hung in there and finished strong. Mentally we had to stay tough because we knew that we will be running a marathon tomorrow as well.

Some people have remarked that the training we are doing is incredible - from running a marathon in the snow at freezing temperatures to running back to back marathons. It feels good to have the admiration of others and I find it to be motivating. On the other hand, when I think about Leadville, how hard it is, how long it is, and all the difficult challenges that face the runners, running a marathon in the snow or running back to back marathons on consecutive days isn't that big of a deal, nor should it be. I realize the workouts are tough but if I start complaining or feeling like I'm doing more than enough, I will be in very big trouble when it comes time to run Leadville.

Until my next post, have a great day! DIG DEEP!

Journey to Leadville - Byrne - January 20, 2012

211 days until the 2012 Leadville Trail 100 Mile Run...

Didn't get as much snow as I thought so the marathon run is on for tomorrow at 4:30 a.m. Already have 4 others committed to joining us - much to my surprise. With the snow and the cold I figured it might just be Rick and I. It is a lot of fun to bring along someone new - gives me an opportunity to tell some of my old stories to new people :o) We'll start with at least 3 and pick up a 4th at 6:00 a.m. There may be more - we'll know in about 8 hours. Not sure who will try to go the entire distance - I'm certain Rick will. Didn't play basketball this morning so I'm very well rested. My lower back pain seems to have disappeared altogether - even shoveled a little snow today :o) I vow to not have cold hands tomorrow as I'm taking a couple of handwarmers with me to use and share with others. I have really enjoyed getting to know other people through this training experience, people I probably would not have had the opportunity to get to know if it weren't for this long distance running. Contemplating when to run the 2nd marathon this weekend. Thinking about late Saturday night if not Sunday morning - either early or real early.

This is a picture from the top of Hope Pass looking to the south. It would be the view you get at mile 45 looking forward or at mile 55 if you turn around and look back. Breathtaking - on a couple of levels. One because it is beautiful and two because it is oxygen deprived air!

Until my next post, have a great day! DIG DEEP!