2012 Race Calendar

A New Year means new traing and racing goals. I have been looking at what races to do in the coming year, and it was a challenge to pick what to put on the race calendar. There are so many great ultras in the midwest now! I wanted to race a few new ones, as well as some of the most competitive races in the region to challenge myself. I also wanted to pick a few courses that would be ideal for a PR. In the end, here is the schedule I am looking at from snowshoe season through ultra racing (subject to change if there are others traveling to a great race of course):

Jan 5 - Boulder USSSA Nationals Qualifier - Duluth
Feb 4 - Twin Cities Snowshoe Shuffle - Duluth
Feb 18 - Book Across the Bay - Ashland
Feb 25 - USSSA Nationals - Frisco CO
April 21 - Fitgers 5K - Duluth
April 28 - Chippewa Moraine 50K - New Aburn WI
May 12 - Ice Age 50M - La Grange WI
June 2 - FANS 12 Hour - Minneapolis
June 23 - Black Hills 50M - Stergius SD
July 28 - Voyaguer 50M - Carlton/Duluth
Oct 20 - Fall 50M - Door County WI
Nov 22 - Gobble Gallop 5K - Duluth

This past season was a good one for me, with highlights including winning the FANS 12 Hour, winning and setting a course record on the two year old course at the Wild Duluth 100k, and setting both 50M trail and road PR's. I had some big challenges thrown at me in my personal life this fall. They really shook up my life and made me re-evaluate things. But with the help my friends and family, training partners, and members of my Quaker meeting, I was able to get a new perspective and come up with a new plan. I am looking forward to enjoying every moment of training and racing in 2012.

Best of luck to all of you on picking some races and setting some goals for your own 2012 season, it will be here before you know it. Adios to 2011, and bring it on 2012!

Great Video of North Face Endurance Challenge 2011

I came across this great video from the North Face Endurance Challenge in San Fransisco on Scott Dunlap's blog, and I thought I would continue to spread it around. The course look great, and I hope to join the field sometime in the next few years to test my self against some of the best in our sport. Congrats to this year's champion Mike Wolfe who was racing runner up Dakota Jones until the final miles. It is so exciting to see more and more ultras coming down to close finishes!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3jIeqfKlRKs#!

In other news, Great Britain announced the first members of their Track and Field Olympic team when they names marathoners Paula Radcliffe, Mara Yamauchi, and Scott Overall to the team. The Olympic season is coming and I can't wait to see who else from around the world will be on the starting line in the 5,000, 10,000, and marathon. Best of luck to the runners from the northland who will be at the US Olympic marathon trials including my friends Jen Houck and Katie Koski.

I have started to bring my training volume and intensity back up in preparation for the snowshoe season and am excited for the snowshoe season. It is a nice break from the focus I have on ultras the rest of the year. I will be posting my 2012 racing calendar soon, so stay tuned for that. Until then - keep warm, and keep running (or skiing and snowshoeing)!

Dry Tortugas Trip

Over the last week I took a great vacation to southern Florida, the Florida Keys, and the Dry Tortugas National Park. It was a nice opportunity for me to relax, do some long runs in the sun, and try to figure things out and destress after everything of the last month.


The major focus of the trip was visiting the Dry Tortugas national park. The park features some of the best snorkeling in the Americas as well as the 1800's era Fort Jefferson that was built over the course of 30 years to protect the only deep water harbor from the Gulf of Mexica to Maryland.

At fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas National Park

The best post ling run food ever - fresh orange juice, bagel, and fresh pineapple and guacamole

Running in the Florida keys

At Evergaldes National Park

Lester Park and Pine Valley NMTC Races

On October 29th and November 5th I ran in the final two NMTC fall trail series races of the year. 2011 was the 30th year for the series, and the community enthusiasm and turn out at the runs continues to grow. This year also marked the last year with Gene Curnow as the series race director. The Curnow family has been instrumental in the Northern Minnesota Track Club, the northern Minnesota running community, and both the NMTC trail series and the Voyageur ultra marathon. Our local trail running community has been very lucky to have the Curnow's leadership and organization for literally decades!

The strting line at the Lester Park NMTC Race

The Lester Park trail race was the longest of the series at 10.7k. It was a three loop course on the Lester Park ski trails. The course was hard packed and dry and included several challenging hills with a long down hill finish. I again ran most of the race with a chase pack behind race leader Eric Atkinson. On the third and final lap of the race I found myself in 6th place, and put on a slight surge to move into 5th place, which was where I would finish the race.

Paul closing hard at the Lester Park NMTC run. I finished 5th, and Paul just behind in 6th

Cooling down after the run with Sundari and some other local runners

Pine Valley Ski Area in Cloquet

The series finally was held at the Pine Valley Ski area in Cloquet. Pine Valley is a beautiful trail system that has running, biking, skiing, and snowshoeing trails. They also have still operational ski jumps that you can just see in the photo above.

The race was a 5.7k single loop course. I started the race with a small lead pack and we ran together for the first 1.5k. At that point Eric and two other UMD runners just done with the cross season opened a gap and Craig Hertz, Paul Kimpling, and I formed a chase pack. We ran together until about 4k when Craig and I pulled ahead of Paul. The two of us ran neck and neck until 400 meters to go, when Craig beat me in the sprint. I finished the final race of the series in 5th place. My finishes in the races of the series ranged from 2nd to 5th. I was really pleased with how well I did this season at such a wide range of distances - from winning a 12 hour race and setting a course record at a 100k to placing very well at these 5k to 10k races. A big thanks to my coach Jason Kask for guiding me through that great season.

After the race there was a potluck and celebration for the Curnow's "retirement" from being the series race director. To me these trail runs and events are a prime example of what I love about our endurance sports community. As some of you know, I have been going through some really difficult personal struggles recently, and my friends and training partners here in northern Minnesota have been a huge support. I really appreciate all that they have done for me.

The post NMTC series potluck

I am now taking a few weeks to train at a lower volume and intensity - in the 12 to 14 hour a week range - and will race one last time this year at the Gobble Gallop. Then in December I will begin to build up my training and focus to start snowshoe racing in January. I have a tentative race schedule for 2012 that I will post on my blog when I start to refocus my training in December.

I hope you all had great 2011 fall races, and I hope to see you out on the roads and trails this winter. Keep exploring the limits!

Wild Duluth 100k

On October 15 Duluth Played host the 3rd annual Wild Duluth races. This year's edition included a half marathon, 50k, and 100k. I raced in the 100k, and was primed for a great race - my last one of the 2011 season. Coming into the race I felt like I was in good shape and healthy, well recovered from the rest of the season.

The Wild Duluth 100k course runs along the Superior Hiking Trail

The race started and ended at Bayfront Park in Downtown Duluth and ran along the Superior Hiking trail to Jay Cooke State Park and back - slightly longer than 100k i'm told. With a race start of 6AM, we were running in the dark for about an hour and were treated to a beautiful sunrise above my neighborhood of Spirit Valley. The weather stayed pleasant for the duration of that day with little to no wind, temps in the mid 40's and blue sky.

Running towards the Jay Cooke State Park turn around

As the race stated I ran with a small group at the front of the line of 100k'ers. We climbed to Enger tower, due to be rededicated by the King of Norway in a few days. At the top of the climb to enger tower I moved to the front of the group to better see the trail for the upcoming technical sections and only one other racer moved up with me. Together we towards Spirit Mt., and before entering the aid station there I moved into the lead, which I would keep for the remainder of the race.

Grand Portage aid station with one of my great crew members

As the race progressed I was able to get into a great rhythm and maintained good pace. I race with my Nathon hydration pack and really like the results. It allowed me keep my arms and hands free and loose as well as reduce the amount of time I had to stop at aid stations along the way. I think that using my hydration pack in similar trail ultras is something I will do more of in the future.

Going into the turnaround I was about 15 minutes ahead of the second place runner, and still feeling very comfortable. As I made my way back to Bayfront Park in Duluth I continued to expand my lead. My over distance runs and long threshold workouts allowed me to gain a lot of time on the challenging climbs near Jay Cooke and the tough section over Ely's Peak the second time. Coming into the Spirit Mt. aid station with the majority of the challenging climbing done I started pushing a bit harder to get the finish line.

I meet my crew for the last time at the 24th ave west aid station just 5k from the finish and knew if I kept up a strong last few miles I could break the course record too. (The current course was first used in the race's second year) I flew through the closing miles with little trouble descending the hill I had climbed a few minutes after 6 that morning and crossed the road into Bayfront Park.

I took the win by about 40 minutes and broke the 1 year old course record. It was a great race, and I could not have asked for a better close to my 2011 race season. Now I will be racing the last few NMTC fall trail series races, then reducing my training volume for a few weeks before increasing my volume again in late November for the snowshoe season. A big thanks to my crew as well as the volunteers who were out there helping make the race possible. Also thanks to my coach Jason Kask of Superior Performance for another ultra racing season with great results, and thanks to the Andy and Kim Holak for organizing the Wild Duluth races.

I will be posting less over the next 3 to 4 weeks of lower volume training, but will try to keep the blog updated with what is going on and my tentative race plans for the coming year are. Enjoy the end of fall!

First place at the Wild Duluth 100k

Interview With Down the Backstretch

Last week I had the pleasure of joining about several hundred runners at the 3rd annual Wild Duluth races. I ran the 100k distance, and placed first in a new course record on the 2 year old course. I have a race report in the works and hope to post that soon. But until then, I was interviewed by Alex Kurt of Down the Backstretch. Here is a link the interview for you to check out:

http://downthebackstretch.blogspot.com/2011/10/qa-chris-rubesch-wild-duluth-100k-champ.html


Have an adventurous weekend!

Wild Duluth 100K Race Preview From Down The Backstretch

The Minnesota running blog Down The Backstretch posted a nice piece this afternoon about the Wild Duluth ultra races. The post talks about some of the contenders for the 100k, and mentioned me as one in the competitive field. It should be a fun race on great trails. I'm looking forward to running it, and to seeing all of you - who are not doing the Whistle Stop Marathon or Half Marathon that is - out on the course!

You can check out Down The Backstretch's post here:
http://downthebackstretch.blogspot.com/2011/10/another-ultra-win-for-undefeated-nowak.html

Good luck to all of the racers this weekend!

Rock Hill NMTC Race

This Sunday I ran in the Rock Hill NMTC race, the 6th race in the NMTC fall series and the 5th that I have run. The NMTC races have all been a blast, and have proven to be great opportunities for me to run speedworkouts with some of awesome the members of local trail running community!

The start of the race. I'm at the front in blue.

We were once again the benefactors of perfect weather, with temps in the mid 50's, a light breeze, and only a few clouds. It had rained earlier in the day, so some of the leaves and wooden bridges were wet, but nothing was too soaked or slipery. The race was at Bagley Nature Center, a great little trail system that is right on the UMD campus and near the CSS campus as wll. The trails are fairly wide and soft, and run through some nice oak and maple forest. They also have some challenging hills, but are still very runnable. I like to do some of my speed workouts here from time to time.

Half way through the first lap, Paul Craig and still running together

The race again started with a small chase pack forming behind Eric Atkinson (who for a little trivia is one of my former high school cross country and track teammates). I was running in the chase group with 3 other guys including Craig Hertz, who has recently joined me in the very addictive niche of ultra running, and my occasional training partner Paul Kimpling. We stuck together through the first of the two laps and then Paul surged ahead of Craig and me. Half way into the second lap I moved ahead of Craig and then caught Paul part way up the largest hill on the course, known as Rock Hill, which is where the race gets it's name. Although my hill strength helped me reel Paul back in, his turn over and shorter distance speed helped him gap me again on the 400m downhill finish. Eric won the race, followed by Paul in second, me in third, and Craig fourth.

Rounding the corner with 50m to the finish

Paul, Craig, and I have been finishing close together in the NMTC races so far, and it has been a lot of fun to have some shorter distance speed sessions with these guys in my fall training. This coming week I have a few mid distance run in the 2:00 hour range, one shorter speed workout, and then on the Saturday the Wild Duluth 100k. Good luck to all of the other runners who will be racing in the Wild Duluth Half Marathon, 50k, and 100k. I'm looking forward to seeing you all out on the trails,and remember...keep exploring the limits!

Snowflake Nordic NMTC Series Race

Cool temps and great fall colors were the perfect recipe for last night's Snowflake Nordic race, the 5th in the NMTC fall race series. The 7.2k course was made up of 2 loops of the nordic trails near the Duluth Hermantown border. Snowflake is a ski, snowshoe, and biathlon center but also hosts other events through out the year including trail running races and cyclocross events.

At the 6:00 PM race start

The race was the last of the fall series to be at 6 PM on Wednesday. From here on out, the decreasing dayight means that the races will be at 2 PM on Sunday afternoons. Today's race started with Eric Atkinson surging to the lead, which he would hold for the entire race. Just behind I ran in the small chase pack. We ran together until the begining of the second lap when I opened a gap and moved into second place.

Just off the starting line, a runner's dog decided to join the lead pack

The chase pack, with me in the lead, late on the first lap

I carried and expanded my gap on the chase pack during the second lap and finish in second place. Heart rate average for the race was 175 beats per minute, which is right where I wanted it be in my anerobic threshold zone. It was a good run for me, and a great way to do a speed workout. Thanks to Austin Jarrow's for putting on the NMTC fall race series and to Eve Stein - a resident silent sports photographer - for taking the photos in this blog entry.

The next NMTC fall race series stop will be on this Sunday at 2 PM at Bagley Nature Center on the campus of UMD. I hope to see you all there. In the mean time, keep exploring the limits!

Spirit Mountain NMTC Race

Last Wednesday night I joined many other trail runners from the area at the "Rolling Stone" Spirit Mountain MTC race. The race is the 4th stop in the NMTC (Northern Minnesota Track Club) fall trail series. The name "Rolling Stone" is very approperaite, as the course starts at the top of Spirit Mouintain and runs down the trail to near the Lake Superior Zoo and Kingsburry Creek, before connecting with the Superior Hiking Trail and zig-zaging back up the mountain. The race was about 6.5K, half climbing and half descent.

It was a lot of fun to let go on the long steep down hill, and a nice challenge to climb back up. Luckly for me, climbing and legth strength is a strong point for me, so I finished in third place. Eric Atkinson and Craig Hertz were again first and second. Paul Kimpling, who is the past few NMTC fall series races has been third, got lost for a part of the race so he finished a bit farther back. I'm sure he will be charging hard this coming Wednesday!

Closing in on the finish line at the Rolling Stone NMTC race

I'm looking forward to the next NMTC fall series race this evening at Snowflake Nordic Center. The turn out for this year's series has been great, so I hope to see a lot of you there again. If you have not yet raced in any of the races, it is not to late to join in the fun!

Have a great week of training, and I hope to see you out on the trails. Keep exploring the limits!

Recent Training and the NMTC Wednesday Night Races

Over the last few weeks my training has been focusing on the upcoming Wild Duluth 100k, which is going to be my last race of the season before a short rest phase and then the start of training for the snowshoe racing season, and next year. If any of you are looking for a fall race to do it is not too late to register for the Wild Duluth races. The race has a Marathon, 50k and 100k and runs on the Superior Hiking Trail from Canal Park to Jay Cook.

I have been re-learning about decipline and flexibility with my training recently. In August I started a new job with a traditional 8-5 Monday through Friday schedule. This means that I have to get up at 5 AM on most days to get my first workout in, and so a second workout over my lunch break. Although the schedule works out, it was difficult to adjust for the first several weeks. Looking forward I think this schedule, and the new freedom for long runs and races I have on the weekends will be a good change.

I have also run in two of the recent Wednesday night races as part of my normal training plan. At a cost of only $1, they are a great way to do a speed workout on some of the trails in our area with other people from the running community.

The starting line of the second race at Zap's Loop - a cold afternoon!

(Photo by Eve Stein)

Start of the race
(Photo by Eve Stein)

At both the Zap's Loop and Superior Wednesday night races I finished 4th. I ran them as extended ANT workouts, and my heart rate was well in the ANT range of 169 to 178 beats per minute. I am looking forward to doing as many more of the Wednesday night races as I can fit into my training schedule.

I hope to see you all outside!

Keep exploring the limits-

Patrick Makau Leads Weekend Marathon Performances

This weekend, the Real Berlin Marathon solidified it's position as one of the fastest marathon courses in the world with some impressive performances. Leading the pack was Kenya's Patrick Makau, who took 21 seconds off Ethiopia's Halie Gebrselassie's 2008 world record. Makau and the leaders, including Gebrselassie who had to drop out at 22 miles with a case of exercise induced asthma, blazed through the half way point 1:01:44. After that Makau never looked back, he went on to finish in 2:03:38. Makau's world record, his first, marks the first time in 4 years that the marathon world record is back in Kenyan hands, and will certainly increase the two nations running rivalry going into the 2012 London Olympics.

Makau after crossing the finish line in Berlin

In the women's race Kenya's Florence Kiplagat won in 2:19:44, which should make her a strong prospect for Kenya's 2012 Olympic marathon team. Former Berlin winner Irina Mikitenko of Germany was second in 2:22:18, and world record holder Paula Radlciffe was third in 2:23:46. Though she seemed disappointed in post race interviews, her finish should certainly be strong enough to secure her place on Great Britain's Olympic marathon team. And with some 10 months to go before the Olympic marathon, I can see at least a dozen men and women - including some from the United States - who could contend for podium spots in London.

Keep exploring the limits!

Running and Relaxing in the Black Hills

Over the long Labor Day weekend I traveled out to the Black Hills for a bit of running and relaxation. The Black Hills are only 12 hours away from my home in Duluth, MN and have great trail running, forests, lakes, and weather - all at 4,000 to 6,000 feet altitude! They are a great place to visit.

What $4 gets you for breakfast at Wall Drug

After driving through the night my trip of course started with breakfast at Wall Drug. It is amazing what a few bucks buys you to eat there. After that I drove into Badlands National Park for a morning run. The temps were still mild when I started, but as the sun came up and I was finishing my run the temps started to rise.

At Badlands National Park

I then finished driving to Rapid City and the Black Hills. I found a camp site at one of the National Forest campgrounds and then set out to find some geocaches. By the end of the trip I found about 20 caches in addition to all the miles I racked up on the area's trails. Dinner at camp that night was excellent - and topped off with Jiffy Pop! Can't beat that!!

On the way up Harney Peak on one of my assents

The next morning I set out from camp early and drove to the Harney Peak trail head at Silvan Lake in Custer State park. Harney Peak is the highest point in the USA east of the rocky mountains at 7,250 feet, and the trail to the top climbs about 3,000 feet. I had a long run to do today so I ran the trail to the top 4 1/2 times - which was about 50k and 12,000 feet of climbing - in 4:28:58. It was a great place to do a long run, and a nice challange too!

At the top of Harney Peak on the first asscent

Relaxing after the long run

After my long run I ate lunch and drove into Custer, SD to get some delicious and well deserved frozen yogurt. I then drove the wildlife loop and Iron Mt. road getting a few more geocaches, taking in the views, and of course feeding the mostly tame burros of Custer State Park. It was a great trip for both training and rest & relaxation.

Voyaguer 50 Miler

After the second time through the powerlines, about 15 miles to go.

The swinging bridge at Jay Cooke. 5K left.

The river through Jay Cook State. If you want to know about the Geology of the area, just talk to Meg.

This year was the 30th anniversary of the Voyaguer 50 miler. The race that started as a small challenge between the runners in the UMTR club has now become one of the oldest ultras in the nation, and one of the most competitive in the region.

The race starts and ends in Carlton MN near Jay Cooke State Park

Coming into the Voyaguer 50 Miler I knew that my training was right where it should be. I had been putting in good volume and some quality ANT workouts and after the Half Voyaguer I was even able to put in some time at altitude, so I was ready to go. The part that made me a bit nervous was the this would be my first ultra sans-crew. For those of you who race ultras, you know how much of a benefit a crew can be in keeping you feed, hydrated, and moving. Meg was in Utah finish the last bits of field camp and racing herself at the Speedgoat 50K in Alta, UT; and my parents were out of town on a trip. The positive thing would be that, as a hometown runner, I would know a lot people along the course, and the frequent well staffed aid stations on the Voyaguer course would be a big help for me too.

The race came early (though not as early as the Half Voyaguer!) on the July 30th at Carlton High school. We lined up in front of the school and with a few shouts, including on from me, we were off to Duluth - and then coming back.

I breezed though the swinging bridge at Jay Cooke and then I settled into a good rhythm in 5th place. I was comfortable through to the top of Spirit Mt. at about 23 miles, but in retrospect was not eating or drinking enough - which would come back to haunt me later. The temps were cool in the early stages of the race, but soon climbed into the upper 80's with full sun and some humidity to boot!

As I ran down the face of Spirit Mt. to the turn around, the miles without enough calories caught up to me. With as many ultras as I have done you would think I would learn! I came into the aid station in 3:35, and hesitated picking up plenty of food, water, and Mountain Dew. After about 2 minutes of refueling I was off and running back towards Carlton. Fellow racer John Storkamp caught me just after we left the turn around, as did one other racer. I was now in 7th place and feeling spent. The heat was climbing as I started up Spirit Mt.

I gave myself until the top of Spirit Mt. to hike/run and recover, and the strategy payed off. By the top of the 2 mile climb the food and Mountain Dew kicked in and I felt 100% better. I cruised down to Becks rd, and on to Fon du Lac. On the descent I caught back up with John Storkamp, and we were running in 4th and 5th place. We ran together through the climb up to the power lines pushing each other. At the Grand Portage aid station I was still feeling good and running a good pace, so I took off and used the tough climbs of the section to make up some time on the runners ahead of me.



At 4 Bay and closing fast!

At the coming aid stations I kept hearing that I was getting closer and closer to the runners ahead of me. I was flying and reeling them in. At Peterson I was 8 minutes back from the 3rd place runner. At 4 Bay I was 4 minutes back, and at Jay Cooke I was less than 3 minutes from 3rd and 2 minutes from second! The race was on!

I was pressing hard through the technical section from the swinging bridge at Jay Cooke to Carlton. But my closing effort was just not quite enough and I finished in 4th place. I raced very strong, recovering from a real slump at half way and from mile 35 to the finish gained nearly 25 minutes on 2nd and 3rd. It was one of the best run and mentally strongest races I have ever had, and I also showed myself that (with great aid stations and volunteers) a 50 miler with out a crew is no problem for me.

Thank you to the great race directors Andy and Kim Holak, all of the volunteers, and my coach Jason Kask at Superior Performance. Congratulations to all of the other racers and finishers.

See you out on the trails!

Half Voyaguer 26 Miler

In the middle of July, just before my trip to Salt Lake City, I raced the Half Voyaguer marathon. Though the name can be confusing, it is a full marathon - half of the 50 Mile race which it shares a course with. The race runs along much of the Superior Hiking trail from the Zoo in West Duluth through Jay Cooke State Park and on to Carlton.

This year was the 20th and final year for race director Gene Curnow, so before the race there was a presentation of a poster and other tokens of our appreciation for the years of work Gene, his family, and the UMTR (Upper Midwest Trail Runners series) has done for the race. Though the race started mostly as a fundraiser for the Voyagure 50 Miler, today it has become a destination race in its own right.

Presenting Gene Curnow with the race poster and shirt. Thanks Gene!

After the presentation, the racers lined up along the "starting line" - a.k.a a crack in the parking
lot at the Lake Superior Zoo. Then, off we went. I started off near the front of the pack, but did not want to expend too much energy on the long climb up spirit mountain that we have right away.

Start of the race

At the top of spirit mountain is an aid station and then we turn of onto the Superior Hiking trail. I had some shoe issues here, my laces kept coming un-tied, but I finally got them secured and began working my way through the pack. I was running the Half Voyaguer as a last supported long run and course preview before the full Voyaguer.

Running towards Beck's Rd and the Fon du lac aid station

I was running with friend and occasional training partner Eric Esher in 5th and 6th place until after the power lines section near 14 miles. The next section is much more hilly than many people expect, and I was able to drop into another gear in this section and us the up hills to my advantage. The rest of the race flew by and before I knew it I was crossing the swinging bridge into Jay Cooke State Park. After that it was a quick, but slow and technical, 5K to the finish line on the Munger trail in Carlton.

On to the finish line on Carlton

I finished in 5th place in 3:35:00, a personal course best by almost 10 minutes! My heart rate stayed nice and low for the entire race, showing that I stayed under my ANT zone for almost the entire race. It was a great race that showed my strengths, bolstered my confidence for the Voyaguer 50 Miler, and was a lot of fun too!

After a quick shower in my solar shower I got in the car and drove straight to the airport in the Twin Cities to fly out the Park City to visit Meg and do some mountain running. Thanks to all of the volunteers and especially Gene Curnow and congratulations to all of the racers!

Long Weekend In Utah

Last weekend I took an extended weekend trip to Park City Utah to visit Meg, who is teaching at a geology field camp there this summer. It was great to visit Meg for the first time in almost 7 weeks, and to get to my fix of mountain running too!

The Wasatch Mountains

I was able to do several 3:00:00+ runs in the Wasatch mountains between 8,000 and 10,000 feet in elevation including near Alta Utah, at Jupiter Ridge near Park City, and Empire Pass outside Park City.

Meg and I trail running to an alpine lake

Trail running here was a blast!

Besides running and hiking, Meg and I ate in one of the best Thai restaurants I have ever been to, visited the Park City Olympic Training Center - site of the 2002 winter Olympic games, and found 5 geocaches in the area. The only down side of the trip was having to leave to head back to home for work. I hope to go west again this fall for a longer running and relaxation respite with Meg.

The Olympic Training Center and 2002 Olympic venue in Park City Utah

Two Weekend Long Runs

This past weekend I had the chance to do two long workouts. The first was a speed embedded long run after work on Saturday that consisted of a 1:00 warm up at long run pace, followed by 1:00 at L3 (which is ANT pace. Also know as tempo pace, it is a hard pace that you could keep up for between 10K to an hour but not much longer), and finally a bit more than a 1:00 cool down at long run pace.

At the SHT trail head near Beaver Bay/Split Rock

My second long run of the weekend was part of a trip up the shore with Tony and Dave from the Duluth Running Company team. We drove up just past the Split Rock river and ran an out and back on the Superior Hiking Trail for a bit over 2:30. It was a beautiful day...for going to the beach, but a bit hot for a long run. We were loving the shaded parts of the trail. We pushed a bit ont he return trip and had a roughly 5 minute negative split. My heart rate average for the run was 149 BPM - not bad for the 88 degree F heat and tough hills of the SHT.

Post SHT run

After the run and bit of re-hydration we trekked down the lake for a quick dip, and then refueled at the Rustic Inn. Delicious! A fun weekend of training.


The other new development in my training is my recent purchase of a Scott 29'er mountain bike. I took it out for the first time on Friday and after having ridden not more than 20 minutes crashes and nicked up my elbow and knee. Luckily they were just superficial wounds!

The new Scott 29'er mountain bike

The trail pushed back on that fall

My second trip out on the easier Piedmont ski trails Saturday evening proved a success with no crashes! I can't wait to take the mountain bike out more. Though I don't see changing my focus on running any time soon, I have been enjoying using road (and now mountain) biking as my spring and summer cross training and snowshoe running as my winter cross training.

Second time is the charm!

Have a great week everyone, and I hope to see you out on our trails!

Week's Training

This week started out on a sour note with me having to head into a Q -Care clinic for a sinus infection. Although the sinus pressure and drainage was bothersome, but I don't have any races coming up for a few weeks and I still managed a good week of training.

My first key workout of the week was and ANT workout of 9 by 5 minutes with 90 seconds of recovery between. I cruised along between 5:24 and 5:30 pace for this one, with a nice solid heart rate.

The second key workout out the week for me was a longer ANT workout of 3x 30 minutes at ANT. This is a tough mental workout, but a good one for getting tough and building my second half strength that has served me well.

My week was capped off with a 3 hour run this morning with Erik Esher from the starting line of the Half Voyageur up Spirit Mountain to Mangely-Snively into Jay Cooke State Park and back. it was a good run, and I was thrilled to run in the sun again after all of that rain we have had.

Overall a solid week of training. I'm happy that I was able to have good efforts for all of my key workouts, and for the first time in a while not have too many wrenches thrown my way.

Race Round-Up From The Track

Although I really enjoy longer races, and normally on trails, I did run track and cross country all through high school and college and still enjoy the tactics and thrill of a track race. This week and weekend is the 2011 USATF Track and Field National Championships in Eugene, OR. The racing and competition is going to be awesome, so be sure to check out all the news from Track Town at: www.usatf.org


I'll start off my USATF Championships viewing by nominating the top 3 track performances of the last few weeks.

#1) On June 11th Lukas Verzbicas of Orland Park, IL not only defended his title in the adidas Jim Ryun High School Dream Mile, but also became the fifth US high school runner to break four-minutes in the mile. He can add that to his other accolades, including breaking the national high school record in the 5000m indoors, breaking the national high school record for the two miles outdoors, and winning both the Foot Locker and Nike national cross country championships. His next goal is a gold medal at the World Junior Triathlon Championships. He will run for the Oregon Ducks this fall.Check out a flotrack video of the race here:

http://www.flotrack.org/coverage/238873-adidas-Golden-Stripes-2011-Dream-100-Jim-Ryun-Dream-Mile/video/495885-adidas-Dream-Mile-Race-Video-Lukas-Verzbicas-35971

#2) On June 23rd Hayward Field hosted both the men's and women's 10000M national championships, which also served as the qualifier for the US World Championship team. In the men's race the top four runners had already reached the world A standard, so the race was "slower" and tactical from the begining with Galen Rupp taking a close victory. You can watch the race from the USATF website here:

http://www.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?do=videos&year=2011&pg=1&event_id=3618&video_id=49837&folder_id=2043&offset=1#video

In the women's race Shalane Flanagan ran away from the field taking the win, with Kara Goucher coming in second, and Jennifer Rhines taking third. I should also point out that the women's medal ceremony is shown in the men's 10000M video, and in it the commentators incorrectly state that Kara Goucher moved with her family from New York to Michigan. I feel compelled to correct them and say that she actually moved to (the one and only!) Duluth, MN. You can watch the women's race from the USATF website here:

http://www.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?do=videos&year=2011&pg=1&event_id=3618&video_id=49805&folder_id=2043&offset=2#video

#3) In yet another stunning performance the 80 year old Ed Whitlock of Ontario Canada broke two world records in 25 hours at the Canadian Masters National Championships. He ran an unbelievable 42:59.16 in the 10000M shattering the old mark by over 1:30! To put that into perspective Ed ran about a 6:55 pace for the 6.2 miles...the men's 80 year old age group record for the mile is 7:09! The next day Ed broke his own two week old 5000M world record running 20:58.12.

Ed Whitlock Cruising To Victory!

And of course good luck to all of the runners taking on Western States this weekend as well. I hope to join you at the starting line sometime in the next few years! Lots of good running going on this weekend, from ultras to the track

.Go For The Buckle Western States Runners!