Flats hurt... but good

Week Summary - January 20, 2013

The trails are still snow-bound and the deep-freeze has solidified the tracked trails into ankle-crushing textures where any pace results in a constant stumble. We need a few warm days to relieve the inversion and soften the snow -- snowy trails are fun, ice-sculpted tracks not so much.

So I kept it simple this week. Some workload forced me on to the treadmill for a spin and I enjoyed some cross work with core and a short jog mid-week. Goni Road was a nice surprise. Good hard-pack snow that the big trucks that usually work the quarry are currently avoiding. It provides some nice elevation gain and even gets into some nice air above the inversion.

Darren on Fort Churchill Road - Mile 12

To get out of the snow for some mileage, Darren and I hit the dry (!) dirt of Fort Churchill Road and got in a steady 22 miles with basically no elevation change. Easily a PR pace for 20+ miles, but I'm paying for the unvarying routine of pounding out the mileage. I have a growling IT and some nice leg soreness in general. Nothing undue for a good week of training. It felt great to run the distance, but I'm accustomed to variations brought on by steady climbs, power hiking, speedy descents, and occasional interval flats. The Fort Churchill Road allows none of that, you just go. There's probably benefit in testing the engines with that type of effort, and my next runs at American Canyon 50K and Buffalo 100 lack major climbs, so I need to be prepped for some steady turnover. Those courses do, however, have a few stout hills that provide variation, and wouldn't it be nice to have something between a 10- and 11-minute pace at American Canyon. Seems a good target for three weeks from now!

Feeling much better after a Sunday shake-out around Virginia City. It's also a good sign that the snow on the dirt tracks is softening up. Certainly because it's probably 20 degrees warmer up here than down in the valleys; nice to be breathing above the inversion too!

The Young Mountain Runners will rendezvous this week in Reno. Celebrating some milestone birthdays and a 50th Anniversary. Some Age Category changes take place this year as both Dennis and Mary move into the 70+ category. Hey, keep going...

Tuesday

EF Treadmill: 4.3 mi (+0 ft); 10:32 pace

Wednesday

Empire OB: 3.7 mi (+30 ft); 10:05 pace
Thursday

Goni Road Hill Climb: 7.6 mi (+1,723 ft); 11:18 pace

Saturday
Fort Churchill Road OB: 22.2 mi (+269 ft); 9:43 pace
Saturday
VC Circuits: 5.8 mi (+456 ft); 10:22 pace

Weekly Totals: 43.6 mi (+2,477 ft); 7:23:59 on trail