Mark

Don’t miss a workout.

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If the recent snow and ice and cold have you wondering where and how to safely exercise, here are some tips:

Salida Track Workout
Salida Track Workout

Get out of town. The cars pack the snow before plowing in town. Less cars do so out of town, so when the roads are plowed they get down to more pavement. Thus there is less hardpack and ice on plowed roads out of town.

Get to dirt. Plowed roads that are dirt always get dirt/gravel mixed into the snow when plowed, so they melt faster.

Screw your shoes. Get an old pair of shoes and put in some ¼ to 3/8 inch long size 4 or 6 hex head sheet metal screws into the outsoles. At least 4 on the perimeter of the forefoot and at least 2 on the sides of the heel. These bite well into hardpack snow and ice and help prevent falls and slips. (Note: do not wear these inside on your fine floors). These can take sections of pavement also. Do not use on air or gel midsoles. If you get short enough screws and position them on the perimeter they will not poke through into your feet.

Screw the Shoes II. Go xc skiing, snowshoeing or swimming instead of running.

Run for the rough. Avoid putting your foot down on shiny, smooth snow/ice, as these surfaces tend to be much slicker than snow or ice that is not smooth or flat and has been disturbed.

Go up. Cold air sinks, so the air may be markedly warmer at a higher elevation on cold mornings. Running uphill warms you faster, and the air can be warmer at the top of Tenderfoot Mtn. than in town.

Land gently. Slow down and land flat-footed on surfaces you think may be slick. You want to maximize the contact area of your entire sole, instead of landing on the outer edge of your heel or the ball of your foot. Keep your foot under your knee and center of gravity directly over your foot.

Note: Just after the storm, the Tuesday speed work group did fast 800 meter intervals without touching snow on spiral drive using these tips. Four people showed up for the marathon training (at –2 degrees) and used these ideas to survive comfortably.

Dealing with hills/age/altitude

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Most runners that live here started running somewhere else. When they get to Chaffee County and start to run (or try to) they notice that it is harder to run here due to the hills and altitude (and also increased age for all but a few).

This can be depressing, but how do you cope?

Some ideas:

*Forget the past. Don’t compare yourself to what you can do then and there. Focus on the here and now, and what you can do to make the future better.

*Slow down (sometimes) It is ok to slow down some, walk some hills( or flats), slack off your normal pace. If you are concerned about time establish a new set of times run for routes or distances up here, and try to work on beating these new pr’s.

*Add more rest. Try to maintain some of your normal speed sometimes by resting more days, so you are fresher when you do run, or by resting in your runs, by slowing down some, walking, or not going as far.

*Run by time. If you were used to doing 6 miles in an hour ‘then and there’ just plan on doing an hour at the same effort ‘here and now’.

*Try to maintain, and try to improve from where you are at now. In reality this is the best anyone, at any level, can expect to do no matter where they are.

Altitude slowing you Down?

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Research has shown that the lower air pressure due to the altitude in Chaffee County (~ 7000′ elevation in Salida and ~ 8000′ in Buena Vista) will slow performance, due to a drop in your bodies ability to deliver Oxygen to working muscles.

Your times will be about 3.7% slower for a 15 minute race in Salida as compared to sea level (~4.7% for 15 minutes in Buena Vista).

For a 30 minute race, times will be ~4.8% slower in Salida and ~5.8% slower in Buena Vista.

For an hour race, you will be ~ 5.7% slower in Salida and ~6.7% slower in BV.

This assumes a well trained runner that has acclimated to altitude and all other conditions (heat, wind, hills, humidity) being the same. (which they are not…)

What does this mean? One percent of an hour is 36 seconds, which is a big chunk of time in a race!

3.7% of 15 minutes is over 33 seconds.
4.8% of 30 minutes is over one minute 25 seconds.
5.7 % of 60 minutes is 3 minutes 25 seconds.

Your times for races that take you 15, 30 or 60 minutes to finish in Salida will be ~ :33, 1:25 or 3:25 slower than at sea level, respectively and theoretically.

Why We Run by Dan Schmidt

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Trail Run Above Salida
Trail Run Above Salida

Getting down to the basics of why we run intrigues me. As much as I love the sport, I often become very anxious before big races and question why I’m about to undertake something so rigorous and down right painful. I often hear the prerace talk about having to be tough and to grin and bear it and to face head on the demons out there on the course. And I ask myself “…hmm, and why am I doing this? I’m no masochist. In fact, I can be quite the baby when it comes to pain.” Although there is a facet of the sport that is challenging, I believe there is something more we can tap into, something that can take us to another level in ultra running.

There is something mysterious and spiritual in a long trail run. Perhaps it’s the connection between yourself and nature. It could be the endorphins that kick in that put you in a state of euphoria. Or it could be what shamans of old experienced as nirvana. Whatever it is, it is like nothing else you can experience without putting yourself on a long trail with nowhere to go but forward. I’ll have to admit, it does not come every time I run.

The last time I recall it coming on was in a race after a period of real struggle. It was at mile 34 after a long time of feeling so bad that I wanted to drop out. All of a sudden the pain and struggle left me. I’m just cruising along. Similar to what I hear about an out of body experience, I look down and see my legs hammering away. It’s a very simple and primitive feeling. I feel like I’m very young again with boundless energy, or like a deer or fox bouncing along the trail. Everything comes together and I feel so good. At that moment I realize why I run. It doesn’t matter where I place in the race, who’s ahead of me or behind me, or anything else. I feel content. There’s no place I’d rather be or nothing else I’d rather be doing. I’m by myself in my own little world that is beautiful and serene with no cares, no tension, no noise or distraction.
Life can be a bit crazy in this world in which we live. Things are so competitive and stressful. Unfortunately I often see others bringing the same tension into running. It’s fun to win the race, but not all of us are in that position. But even if we are, I think performance as well as experience can be enhanced with this perspective.