After speaking with my buddy Mark Dowds earlier this week he filled me in on some essentials to carry in a pack during an ultra. Apparently aid stations run out of food and drink all of the time, his word of advice was to be prepared to support yourself. Good word.

Essential items to carry during an ultra:
Duct tape
Jelly beans
Toilet paper
Extra electrolyte (Motor Tabs for me)
Extra energy bars
Jacket
Extra socks
Phone so you can call your wife to came and save you

I tried this pack on last night in the Portland North Face store and it felt really good.

E-RACE BOA®

ENDURO BOA

I may need to get a second job to support this new habit!

Andy B
outsideallday.com

I’m not the smartest dude. I’ve read over and over the need for proper recovery post training. I don’t know if it’s because I’m lazy or what but I just don’t make the right food choices after exercise. If I was smart, I’ve have a solid serving of protein 15 minutes post training, I rarely do. Last Sunday my wife and I ran the Horsetooth Half Marathon. It’s a beautiful race on paved road with lot’s of climbing up and down. My average mile time was an 8:18, not fast but not slow. Post race I didn’t recover well, I had planned on it but we had some car issues. I know for a fact that I felt “average” this past week due to the poor recovery on Sunday. I hate being sore and feeling like I can’t do my best because of a dumb decision I’ve made.

Another curve ball in this equation is CrossFit at Emergent Fitness. Since January, I’ve attended 2, 1 hour classes a week. These workouts are intense and fully draining. I usually leave feeling totally trashed. But based on my running schedule, I have a big run the next day. Not feeling well isn’t really an option.

2 commitments:
Hydrated well post training
Carry Fluid Recovery in my car so it’s always with me and available

Not sure what to expect but I know I need to take recovery more seriously…

Andy B
outsideallday.com

Garmin Forerunner 405CX Heart Rate Monitor

I’ve had my eye on the Garmin Forerunner 405CX Heart Rate Monitor for a few months. It’s super pricey but super awesome. With all of the running I’ve been doing on trails, it’s hard to gauge distance and elevation gain, this watch solves those issues. I’d also be excited about seeing/tracking my stats post run which this watch does easily. Probably not in the budget anytime soon but if you have the dough, this watch is the way to go.

Andy B
outsideallday.com

Below is the training plan I’m thinking of following for the build up to Leadville Trail Marathon. The distances below are designated as either the long Saturday or Sunday run for the week. Click here to see the weekly training plan breakdown. The Emergent Fitness and solid running volume plan has me super excited to go into the event healthy and injury free.

11 week build up to Leadville:
(10 minute mile pace)

Week of April 19 – Long run 15 miles
Week of April 26 – Long run 8 miles
Week of May 3 – Long run 16 miles
Week of May 10 – Long run 17 miles
Week of May 17 – Long run 18 miles
Week of May 24 – Medicine Bow Half Marathon
Week of May 31 – Long run 15 miles
Week of June 7 – Long run 17 miles
Week of June 14 – Long run 20 to 21 miles
Week of June 21 – Long run 8 miles
Week of June 28 – Taper/rest

*All bold is a rest week.

Race day, July 3 – Let’s do this thing mang!

Andy B
outsideallday.com

Sunday morning Julie and I ran the Horsetooth Half Marathon. It was a beautiful 65 degrees and we both wanted to run well. We joined over 1,200 other racers on what I would call a challenging course. The first 3.5 miles go STRAIGHT up instantly bringing you to your LT and beyond. It’s not until mile 4 that you really begin trying to recovery and figuring out what your pace should be. My first mile was a 9:18 if that helps to explain how steep the first few hills are.

The best time of the day was thrown down by Steve Folkerts with a 1:14:59.8 (5:43/M). That’s fast on this course, I guess that’s fast on any course.

Julie Brazelton – 1:53:38.6 (8:40/M) – 319 out of 1,206
Andy Brazelton – 1:48:50.1 (8:18/M) – 214 out of 1,206

Click here to see the rest of the results.

I took Monday off for recovery and will be back at Emergent Fitness on Tuesday.

The plan is to knock out 15 trail miles this Saturday with Mike Porter in Lory State Park.

My calves are super sore and Julie can barely walk!

Andy B
outsideallday.com

Leadville Trail Marathon 2009 from Brandon Fuller on Vimeo.

A few days ago I came across a video from a dude name Brandon Fuller. He race the Leadville Trail Marathon in 2009. It’s pretty long but he has some good insights into the race and the elevation of the city of Leadville. If you’re interested in the race, the video is fun to watch.

As of now Brandon and I are heading up early on July 2, without wives of kids, to acclimate as much as we can. I think Mike and his family are going to camp.

Course Description
The race course is out and back through the historic mining district on the east side of Leadville. Race start will be at 8:00 a.m. in front of the 6th Street Gym. The course is primarily on old mining roads and trails, topping out at 13,185 ft. Mosquito Pass. You may be crossing snow on the course. The courses will be well marked with fluorescent pink and black striped ribbon and chalk arrows.

More info on the Leadville Trail Marathon: www.leadvilletrail100.com/lt100races/LeadvilleTrailMarathon/overview.aspx

This one is going to hurt, July 3 is right around the corner.

Andy B
outsideallday.com

Weight Loss For Runners: The 10 Rules of Weight Loss
By Nancy Clark

Nutritionist Nancy Clark shares 10 tips all runners should know if they want to drop some pounds.

1. To lose 10 pounds of body fat a year, you need to eat 100 calories less per day. Cutting too many calories from your daily intake will sap your energy level and increase your hunger, making you more susceptible to splurging on high-calorie foods. 2. Don’t skip breakfast. Eat within two hours of waking.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Andy B
outsideallday.com

3 months ago, I thought I was on a clear track for a super fun season of racing road. Then in February it hit me that I was a little discontent with my plan.

Things became clear while reading TrailRunner Magazine and finding an ad for the Steamboat 50 Mile Ultra Marathon. My foot is feeling good and I’m not getting any younger. After speaking with my wife she gave me the thumbs up to explore the idea of completing the 50.

My buddy from work, Mike Porter completed the Old Pueblo 50 Mile Endurance in March of this year. We’ve talked about his experience for hours and I’m finally convinced that I have a shot.

The last step was recruiting my college buddy Brandon Groza who’s recently relocated to Boulder, CO to run the 50 with me, he’s in!

Brandon, Mike and I are going for it! All 3 of us are committed to the ramp up schedule below…

The build up:
Horsetooth Half Marathon – April 18
Medicine Bow Half Marathon – May 30
Leadville Trail Marathon – July 3
La Sportiva Eldora Trail 11km – August 8
The Steamboat 50 – September 18

Right now my weekly training schedule is:
2 days a week of CrossFit at Emergent Fitness
3 – 4 days a week of running with long weekend runs

Weekly training guide:

Monday – Emergent Fitness (CrossFit)
Tuesday – LSD (long slow distance)
Wednesday – Tempo run or hill train
Thursday – LSD
Friday - Emergent Fitness
Saturday - Long run
Sunday – Recovery or off

*Every 4th week is recovery.

It’s going to be a long ride but I think it will be worth it!

Andy B
outsideallday.com

Julie and I are tackling this race tomorrow morning. I’m really looking forward to it, pretty much injury free expect for a big blister on my heal.

The current training block is all slow base miles, so tomorrow will be slow, that is unless the little wife tries to make it a race. Make sure to check out the course profile below, it’s a very interesting course.

The Horsetooth Half Marathon was voted Colorado’s #1 Half Marathon in 2006 and the Best After Race Party in 2007 by readers of Colorado Runner Magazine.

The Horsetooth Half Marathon is one of the most popular, oldest, and continually run races in Colorado. Beginning in 1973, it is owned by the Fort Collins Running Club and currently administered by the Colorado Marathon as part of the Colorado Marathon Series of Races. To find out more about the Marathon and our popular training runs leading up to The Horsetooth Half, visit the Colorado Marathon website.

Course profile:

I’ll let you know how it goes…

Andy B
outsideallday.com

Got to love the South Bay. An excerpt from the training log:
Monday – PV trail run – 52 mins
Tuesday – Surf at Burnout – 1 hour
Tuesday – Paddle at Sunset – 1 hour
Wednesday – Mountain Bike Ride Malaga Cove, sunset to dark – 2 hours 20 mins
Thursday – Manhattan Beach Trail Run – 40 mins

Join us at the final run of the OC Chili Winter Trail Run Series. Over 200 participants have joined us at each of the runs so far this series and have enjoyed the 5 Mile beautiful course and the post race chili. The next event in the series takes place on Saturday, April 17.

The 5 mile course is scenic and includes everything you could want in a trail run – varying elevations, wide fire roads at the start, single track trails at the end and an overall great day of competition, food and fun. Come on out.

Spent a few days up in Davis.

Two great runs out in the university fields. Amazing place. Just miles and miles of dirt with orchards, plants and event a great municipal airport. It comes with our recommendation.

Get out there this week and grab a motor tabs to keep you out there longer. Today we have rain but I will be hitting the eucalyptus trail before the end of the college basketball season starts up tonight.

Leadville from Scratch From zero to 100 in a year
By Dougald MacDonald

I began to take my running seriously in August 2004, when I resolved to run Colorado’s Leadville Trail 100 exactly one year later. Until then, running meant neighborhood jogs with my golden retriever. I had never run a race longer than five miles. My zero-to-100 plan didn’t quite pan out-I injured a calf muscle partway through the race and ground to a halt after 86.5 miles and 26 hours. But I did manage to complete three trail ultras during my first year of running, and I learned valuable lessons for anyone breaking into long trail races-lessons I’ll heed when I return to Leadville.

Click here to read the rest of the story.

More info on why I’m posting articles like this coming soon…

Andy B
outsideallday.com