Dog Laps!

This weekend was amazing. Not only did the weather hold and the sun shone but the workouts were nothing short of perfect. It was one of those weekends when training plans and partners come together and share not only the trails but laughs, stories, camaraderie and challenges. It was everything I love plus extra. If fact, this last week of training both on the trails and in the gym felt like a mild up tick meaning I had strength in my body and my mind.

Since this was to be my last peak week of training before the Muir Beach 50K I planned to hit it hard. Especially with the holiday weekend around the corner and not much time for any kind of training I planned to make the most of this peak week. After the 10K last weekend I felt great. I was happy to not be sore or tight after the effort which gave me no excuses. I had a lot of awesome gym workouts but one stands out so much I have to share it. After it was over in 9 minutes and 47 seconds I couldn't stop thinking about it. It was one of Mark's "Get Hammered" workouts and though it was short it was probably the hardest 9 minutes and 47 seconds my body has done that I can currently remember. Here's how it went. First, no rest between sets. Second, the bar I had to jump up and catch is 8 inches above my hand with a fully extended arm. Here's the workout: Very Crossfit like....

15 burpees and on the jump catch the bar and do a pullup.

15 overhead presses with a 45 pound bar.

15 burpees and on the jump catch the bar and do a pullup.

15 overhead presses with a 45 pound bar.

10 burpees and on the jump catch the bar and do a pullup.

10 overhead presses with a 45 pound bar.

10 burpees and on the jump catch the bar and do a pullup.

10 overhead preses with a 45 pound bar.

That's it! That's 50 fricken pull-ups! Towards the end I had to do a kipling pull-up to get myself up and on a few it took a double kipling to get my chin above the bar. The leap to the bar was hard and I was so incredibly worked my legs were shaking, my breath was uncontrollable and I coughed for 30 minutes afterwards due to what seemed like cardiac arrest. The only regret I had is I didn't wear my heart rate monitor. This was and incredible rush for me. Alex has been coming to "Get Hammered" one day a week after Basketball and he is one strong boy. He absolutely loves to show his stuff and show me up. I am really enjoying his enthusiasm and drive. He brought a friend last Thursday and the both rocked the workout. Mark is simply amazing with everyone but he is awesome with kids.

6 weeks of boot camp was over on Friday and we had our final PT test. I was happy to see improvements in all areas. I wondered if I might go backwards since I was NOT rested like I was when we did the first measurement. The test included push ups, sit up (the full ones), hang test (like in school) and a 2 mile run. Boot camp 2 starts after Thanksgiving and I am curious.

My results:

Hang: 1 minute 30 seconds

Sit ups: 66 in 2 minutes

Push ups: 65 in 2 minutes

2 mile run: 7:12 pace

This week of running was the best! Tuesday was track clinic with 3X200 meters, 3X400 meters and 1X200 meter. Darin came out to join and gave some really valuable feedback. I was strong and my times were a bit faster. Thursday Trisha and I did a 13.8 mile run in Forest Park. The night before was a raging storm with tons of wind and sideways rain. When I woke up it looked like the storm was sticking around for a bit. I admit it was hard to think about such a long run in the cold, wet and windy weather. When I arrived at 53rd ave. I had to use my legs to open my car door against the wind. I glanced over to Trisha and yelled, "coffee instead". NO WAY, she was ready. It was one of those days where it was so nice to have a running buddy who has a mission. We bundled up and headed down the trail and within about 5 minutes all the rain and wind ceased. We had found a window of calm weather and it stayed that way until the very last 5 minutes when it returned with a vengeance. That made me think about my weekend plans....hmmmm do I really want to do it.

The bad weather seems to be hanging around now so it's time to embrace the change and pull out the hand warmers. I wanted to do a serious back to back on the weekend to end my second peak week and cycle number 2. I dug through my running archives in search of a good challenges on trails that will soon be covered with snow. Back in the day.....we used to do runs on Dog Mountain in the gorge. We would do "dog laps" which was our funny way of disguising the difficulty of this trail. Dog Mountain is a wonderful place and is a favorite hiking spot for many especially while the wildflowers are in bloom. The mountain has two trails that lead to the summit. The less steep side at 3.7 miles to the summit and the very steep side at 3.2 miles. The trails connect at the top and make for a lovely but grueling 6.9 mile loop. The climb is 2,920 per side! I have stats for doubles, triples, quads and one 24 hour run where we did 8 laps. I sent my times to Micheal for doubles and wondered if we could beat my best at 3:38 and 5,840 feet of climb and descent. Dr. T, Micheal, Steve and I all headed out for the quad busting run. When we all arrived at the parking lot Steve says, "Do you think we can summit in less than an hour"? My record is 56 minutes for a steep side summit. We were planning on doing the less steep side first then we would race to the top on steep side for number 2. We weren't planning on having a easy trip up on number 1 either. Immediately we hit it hard. The summit of Dog is open and exposed and I swear it has it's own weather system up there. We were equipped with hats, gloves and coats for whatever went on up there. Expecting horrible weather we were treated to only dense fog and mild winds on the open ridge. We busted up in good time, snapped a couple of pictures then headed down the steep side for a good quad killer. Micheal lead the charge with Drake and Steve close behind. I brought up the rear as I had to re-learn how to navigate the steep technical terrain. Once I got my groove I overtook Steve and tried to chase the boys but they kept just far enough in front. At the bottom the adrenaline was flowing and we were all excited for the race up the steep side. Waisting no time Steve took off with purpose tailed closely by Micheal and Drake. I again brought up the rear but pushed hard. I was racing the clock and tried to run as much as I could but the steep side is steep and I found myself pushing my quads with my hands in areas. As I made the last switchback turn I knew I was not going to make it. The .4 miles to the top sign appeared and my watch read 58 minutes. I couldn't see any of my racing buddies but the fog was thick. I arrived at the summit 1:03:29....arggg. The only one that made it up in an hour was Micheal but Steve swears Micheal drafted off him then dropped him like a rock. :) We blasted down the less steep side to finish our two loops in 3:25! That's a new record for me and I know I can do better. My climbing was not nearly as good as it will be. Once I got my feet under me I ran the descents well. Double dogs, 5,840 feet of climb and descent..what fun! My quads held up well but I knew I would be paying the piper later but just one more day!

Sunday we planned a 20+ loop starting at Herman creek up the Gorton Creek trail to Green Point Mountain and back down the Herman Creek. Green Point tops out at around 4,800 feet and the run would yield over 5,000 feet of climb. Steve was sure we would run into snow and did we ever. The day started out speedy because the Beast came along and he is a terror on the hills. The only hope you have to to get in front and slow the mighty engine down. My legs could feel the Dogs but I knew they would hold up. It was an amazingly clear day but bitterly cold. The east winds were intense at times bringing the temps down below freezing. If it were raining we would have been permanent ice sculptures but the exceptionally dry air made for a great run. We hunkered down and made our way to the top. We hit snow in small amounts which looked like a dusting but on top we were in a winter wonderland. It was so neat. We rarely have dry snow and this snow was both fresh and dry and the sun was shining bright. The temperatures were getting very low and I had to pull out my hand warmers, hat and coat. I was worried about Ultra with her thin coat and delicate pads but she kept warm by running back and forth. One of her pads did start to bleed and I was freaked. I took a look and it was just chaffing from the snow and not bad. There was nothing I could do but get her out of the snow as fast as possible. We didn't do any standing around except for the summit for some quick pictures because it was to cold. At the top the views were awesome with Mt. Adams at one angle, Hood at another and a high mountain lake below. The trees made me think of Christmas. Plunging down the back side through the fresh snow finding the trail by following deer tracks and using Ultra's keen sense was fun. Fresh unbroken snow just deep enough to hear the crunch felt like a special treat and it was. Once out of the snow and making our way down the long steady downhill was fast but technical in sections. The footing wasn't so great with all the blowdown and loose rocks. My hammered quads had to find their groove to stay steady but with 2 miles left I was pooped and my legs were mush! Ultra's foot stopped bleeding and she seemed to not even notice the rubbed pad. I think she may have been on a running high too...I know we were. I was sore when we were done. All of us were but what a great weekend of training and team work.

I woke up this morning and tentatively got out of bed wondering if my legs were going to buckle. They are sore but not as bad as I thought they would be. Maybe tomorrow the real pain will set in but since I ate about 2 pounds of fish last night my muscles might have gotten all they needed. At least I know my omegas were on the high side! :)

HAVE A GREAT THANKGIVING EVERYONE!