Sunday, March 18, 2012

Ready for Antelope


Week Summary


Tuesday
Mary's 1st Place, yesterday at Canyonlands
Carson River Flats: 9.1 mi (+66 ft); 10:35 pace
Wednesday
Emma Quarry: 5.7 mi (+503 ft); 10:05 pace
Thursday
Nimbus OB (Folsom Lake, CA): 5.8 mi (+121 ft); 8:27 pace
Saturday
Whites - Thomas OB: 11.4 mi (+1600 ft); 11:14 pace
Weekly Totals: 31.9 mi (+2,289 ft); 5:29:58 on trail




So the snow finally arrived. All week the storm clouds sat on top of the Carson Range, afraid to drop into the Great Basin. On Saturday they moved in. Not a great snowfall, but much-needed and welcome.


The training week focused on mixed tempos and easy base miles as I taper into Antelope. I'll be pacing Darren for the second fifty, a commitment that I don't think is much different from basically racing a fifty myself. The pace will be somewhat slower because Darren will be on his second fifty, but that might make us about equal, so my preparation reflects Antelope's position as a major event in my season.


I had some great, mostly flat, trails this week. I put in some extended time on the Carson Trails early on, keeping the pace low and steady. Due to the time change I was able to get up to Emma Quarry on Wednesday evening and take a spin on that trail; a little faster than I wanted in a general taper week but it was such a beautiful evening and I was happy to be in the pinyon mid-week again.


Spent Thursday in Davis, CA, so on my way home I pulled off Highway 50 at the Nimbus Fish Hatchery on Folsom Lake and hit that excellent dirt trail in a light, warm rain. I pushed some good tempo for forty or so minutes there; felt really good on the strides along the damp trail. This will be a good stop when I have to spend time on the valley side of the Sierra. Inside Trail has a Folsom Lake further east on this trail on April 28th.


I had hoped for a Friday outing, but I couldn't get it one in. But on Saturday I called Darren and we met at the Blue Roof (Chevron Station on Mt. Rose Highway) to head up the Whites Creek Trail. This turned in to one of the most enjoyable runs I've yet had. Not because it was a huge effort, but because the trail was perfect, the sky threatened and then did snow, and we simply rambled out-and-back in easy conversation. At the mountain front we turned north and grabbed the Thomas Creek Trail to head on to snow-covered single-track, climbing into the forested canyon. The snow began to fall while we were in the forest and continued in giant curtains across the valley as we emerged and descended back down Whites. Fantastic.


Prior to Darren and I setting off on the Whites - Thomas OB, we learned that Mom had completed her Occupy Podium hat-trick at the Moab Race Series -- 1st place in her age group at Canyonlands Half-marathon yesterday. Dennis and Mary finished together in 2:34. Although they battled a fierce head-wind and a crowd of almost 3,200 racers, they PR'd the half if we count the chip time as opposed to the gun time. With so many entrants, you could stop for coffee between the sound of the gun and when you actually get "chipped" at the start line. There's some compensation because entrants generally line up with designated pacers (if you think you'll run a 2:30 half-marathon you line up with a guy with 2:30 printed on his shirt, or something like that), but still it can result in meaningful variations.  Mom's 1st place was only 33 seconds ahead of 4th place in her division, and that's after two and a half hours on the trail -- and three minutes waiting to reach the "start" after the gun had sounded.  


Great work and another set of Great Results for the Young Mountain Runners. See you at Antelope Island!


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