Dale Ball 45km

Crone and I put together a nice 45km-ish route on Dale Ball this weekend. Starting from the Upper Canyon lot we first headed north to Sierra del Norte, wrapped back around to Hyde Park Rd, and turned around at the lower Cerro Gordo trailhead. We were back at the car for 18 miles and change in what seemed like a quick three and a half hours. After a brief resupply we ventured up toward Picacho and continued on toward Atalaya. The climb to Picacho was mostly runnable but the snow got deeper near the Atalaya summit. And the hike became more and more tedious... although it's tough even in good conditions. The upper switchbacks on the way down were packed with snow and downright treacherous in spots, but the Kathoolas held well. After hammering the rest of the descent I turned around at the St John's parking lot and soon rejoined with Crone who had slowed a little. 

Our route. Click for larger version.

Our original plan was to return back over Atalaya, which would have added another 3 miles and 1500 feet of gain, but neither of us was thrilled at the prospect of trying to descend what we had just climbed up. Instead we took Wilderness Gate over to some lower trails and made our way north before popping out on Upper Canyon Rd about a half mile below the parking lot. Total for the day was a touch over 28 miles and 6200 feet of vertical. Not a bad day's work at all. The full route with a double crossing of Atalaya will definitely make for a tough 50km run later in the year when the trails are free of snow.
 
Some Atalaya pictures:

Almost there...

Summit view looking northwest, with Chicoma Mountain visible in the distance

Summit view looking east toward the Pecos

Overall the week was mostly easy running in anticipation of Sunday's effort, but good vertical and the volume is starting to come around. The numbers:

Mon PM (1): 5.0 mi / 1000 ft. About halfway up Camp May Rd.

Mon PM (2): 4.9 mi / 200 ft. Easy road loop. Note to self: going for a run after eating a plate full of tacos is not a good idea.

Tue: 6.0 mi / 2000 ft. Hill repeats, run as a strength workout: sprint up the hill for 10-20 seconds and then ease off to keep the heart rate in check. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Wed: 4.1 mi / 400 ft. Downtown loop easy.

Thu: 4.1 mi /  400 ft. Downtown loop easy again. Work conflicts put the kibosh on an afternoon run.

Fri: 5.9 mi / 1200 ft. Nail Trail to Camp May Rd. Nice conditions with a bit of postholing but otherwise quite runnable. Of course we haven't tried to run down Nail Trail yet...

Sat: 4.1 mi / 400 ft. Same as Wed/Thur. I think I'm about due for a new easy route.

Sun: 28.2 mi / 6200 ft.

Total: 62.3 mi / 11800 ft.

Picacho

Crone and I capped off the week with a nice summit of Picacho on Sunday. As expected the bottom half of the climb was extremely icy, and the top half was mostly clear aside from what had fallen while we were running. Despite the conditions we made decent time, about 30 minutes up and 16-ish down. Round trip starting from the Sierra del Norte parking lot (10.7 mi / 2700 ft) was a touch over 2 hours.

Summit in the clouds. They were mostly clear by the time we got up.

Lots of ice on the bottom half of the trail.

View toward St. John's college, maybe 2/3 of the way up.

View from the 8500' summit looking north-east. The big peaks
are in the clouds.

Another solid week as the base building continues. The numbers:

Mon: 5.9 mi / 1200 ft. Nail Trail to Camp May Rd. Surprisingly good conditions on Nail Trail compared to the week before.

Tue AM: 4.1 mi / 400 ft. Downtown loop easy.

Tue PM: 6.0 mi / 2000 ft. 8 x hill repeats. Still keeping the effort in check.

Wed AM: 4.1 mi / 400 ft. Downtown loop easy.

Wed PM: 5.9 mi / 1200 ft. Nail Trail again.

Thu: 4.6 mi / 800 ft. Out toward S-Site until the snow got too deep.

Fri: 5.0 mi / 500 ft. East side road loop easy.

Sat: 8.9 mi / 900 ft. Another east side road loop. Ran this route last week and I'm really liking it as a longer easy effort.

Sun AM (1): 4.1 mi / 400 ft. Downtown loop easy.

Sun AM (2): 10.7 mi / 2700 ft.  Dale Ball out and back: Sierra del Norte - Cerro Gordo - Picacho. Wasn't thrilled about splitting up the day's mileage but you gotta take what you can get sometimes.

Total: 59.2 mi / 10500 ft.

I love big dumps

Some steady precipitation has somehow resulted in nearly a foot and a half of new snow up at the basin over the last few days. Gonna have to get me some of that pretty soon. In town we had maybe 4-5" on Friday morning, and sporadic light snow over the rest of the weekend that didn't really accumulate. But it was enough to make for some fluffy fun on Friday afternoon, especially when it started snowing again. By Sunday the trails were largely back to their sloppy selves, with only some fresh packed snow on top of the icier spots remaining as evidence of the storms. I also saw on the news last night that the Sangre de Christo mountains were at 100% of normal snowpack. That was a pleasant surprise to hear. Hopefully it will be enough to avoid a repeat of last summer's tinderbox conditions.

Fresh powder on Dale Ball

No real long run this week but some good quality base work. I've been keeping the intensity in check and will continue to do so until I get my weekly volume up to around 70-80 miles. And so far so good. Sunday's run was at a pace that I would have considered ambititous not too long ago, yet it felt like an easy jog. That was a nice little confidence boost.

The numbers:

Mon: 4.1 mi / 400 ft. Downtown loop easy.

Tue AM: 4.1 mi / 400 ft. Downtown loop.

Tue PM: 5.5 mi / 1800 ft. 7 x hill repeats, aerobic effort.

Wed AM: 4.1 mi / 400 ft. Downtown loop.

Wed PM: 5.0 mi / 1200 ft. West Rd - LA Canyon - Perimeter - Water Tower.

Thu: 5.0 mi / 1000 ft. Camp May Rd about halfway.

Fri: 6.2 mi / 900 ft. Hyde Park - Dale Ball - Cerro Gordo.

Sat: 8.9 mi / 900 ft. East side road loop. Need an easy leg spinner.

Sun: 10.2 mi / 1800 ft. Dale Ball out and back from home.

Tota: 53.1 mi / 8800 ft.

Brooks Pure Grit Review

Despite whatever impression you might get from my wife or the shoe rack in my closet, I'm ultimately a two-trail-shoe kind of guy: I want a lightweight pair for daily training, and a heavier but more cushioned pair for recovery days and long runs. For about the last 8 months I've been slowly reducing the weight of my heavier shoe. I started out in something a little over 12 oz, and later went down to something in the 10-10.5 oz range. At just under 9 oz for a men's size 9, the Brooks Pure Grit is the next step in that progression for me. And the short version of the story is, I really like it a lot.

Looking no worse for the wear after 50+ miles

If I could only write one thing about this shoe it would be how comfortable it is. It is easily the most comfortable trail shoe I own, and statements that it "fits like a sock" are no exagerration: snug in the heel and midfoot, and roomy in the toe box, just how I like it. The entire upper, including the support overlays, is very soft and flexible. It really does a good job of hugging the foot without impeding natural motion and articulation. A lot of times on my recovery days just putting on my shoes feels like a chore. That has not been the case with the Pure Grit. It almost feels refreshing to slip them on when my legs and feet are feeling tired.

The downside of a soft flexible upper is that I find I have to be more careful with lacing. If I don't get it right then my foot moves a little too much and things get sloppy. Dialing in the lacing with the Pure Grit did seem to take a little bit longer than usual. The elastic band over the top does interfere with lacing sometimes, so I will probably cut it off even though it hasn't caused any discomfort.

The entire upper is well-ventilated

The ride of the Pure Grit brings to mind a mid-weight road shoe. The flexible outsole makes for an effortless transition onto asphalt, rock, and other hard surfaces. A lot of my trail runs include an approach on pavement or dirt roads so I definitely appreciate the multi-surface capabilities. For example a recent 16-miler that I ran in the Pure Grit involved about two miles of pavement, three miles of dirt road, and the remainder on single track. The shoe felt great the entire time. I also have found turnover to be very good, and that combined with the weight make it hard not to push the pace on smooth trail and cruiser-grade downhills.

The cushioning is ample but firm. I don't mind soft cushioning in a road shoe (think Saucony Kinvara) because the compression is mostly vertical. However I find that overly soft cushioning in a trail shoe makes for an unstable ride: the soft cushioning is simply unable to resist the rotational and lateral motions that result from running on uneven surfaces. Fortunately the Pure Grit doesn't suffer from any of that. On the other hand, there is enough cushioning present to reduce ground feel a little bit and make the shoe somewhat less responsive. On more technical terrain it doesn't have the crisp, tactile handling of shoes like the New Balance MT 101, for example. The cushioning did seem to firm up a little bit around 20-30 miles.

The radiused heel is intended to reduce heel striking

The Pure Grit has a number of features that are intended to encourage "natural running": the split outsole fore and aft, the radiused heel, and the strike pod in the center of the outsole. The Pure Grit does not impede my stride in any way, even on steep downhills, but how much of that is due to these features versus the 4mm heel-to-toe drop I couldn't say with any certainty. And from a performance perspective I don't really care: as long as the shoe doesn't get in the way, I'm satisfied. I don't know to what extent these features increase manufacturing cost, however, so on that basis I might be inclined to leave them out.

A simple but effective tread

The outsole is constructed from a (mostly) single piece of what appears to be a very durable rubber compound. I prefer uncomplicated, robust lug patterns on my trail shoes because I feel like they wear better and are more effective. The Pure Grit definitely meets that standard. The tread is not as grippy as shoes like the La Sportiva Crosslite but I have not found it to be inadequate either. It has performed very well on the often-rocky Santa Fe area trails, and holds its own on snow. No issues with Kathoolas either. I do wonder if some weight could be saved with lighter (albeit less durable) material in the center portion of the outsole, similar to the New Balance MT 110.

Testing out the chains on fresh snow

In summary, I chose the Pure Grit as a heavier, more cushioned complement to my daily trainer (currently the NB MT 101). In that role I am very happy with it so far. It is not the most nimble shoe out there, but for the slower paces of my recovery and long runs it is exactly what I'm looking for: a smooth comfortable ride but without the clunkiness and weight that one would normally associate with that category of shoe. So there's a very good chance I'll be lacing these up at Leadville. The Pure Grit also would make a great all-around trail shoe for someone who primarily runs roads and is used to the ride and handling of a road shoe. It has most of the comfort and runnability of the Brooks Cascadia but in a lighter and lower profile package.

As for the "natural running" aspects of the Pure Grit, I view the whole natural running thing as a means to an end. If it improves my running, great, but "running naturally" in and of itself is not one of my goals. On the other hand, I do like the fact that the natural running movement is driving innovation in shoe design, and the Pure Grit is very much the result of that. Yes there are a few things I might tweak but those are all minor.

Lastly, I know this shoe has been likened to the Saucony Peregrine so I wanted to give my thoughts on how they compare since I have spent a little time in that shoe as well. On paper they are quite similar, both in weight and stack height. However, I feel like they followed opposite paths through design space to get to that similar end point. As I mentioned the Pure Grit rides very much like a road shoe, and overall it does come across as a road shoe that's been beefed up with a more tractional outsole and slightly reinforced upper. In contrast the Peregrine seems to me like a canonical 11-12 oz trail shoe that's been lightened and had the heel trimmed down. It has many of the characteristics one might normally associate with heavier trail shoes: more substantial tread, increased upper protection, and somewhat less flexibility. The Peregrine also feels a little higher off the ground to me. But don't get me wrong: I think both are excellent choices in the mid-weight trail shoe category and I wouldn't be unhappy with either.

Into the night

As soon as I typed the post title I thought of that old Julee Cruise song. Come on, admit it, you used to watch Twin Peaks.

A fresh dusting of snow made for a beautiful but eerily quiet pre-dawn run on Dale Ball on Sunday. Just me, the dog, and some grumpy coyotes who thought they were gonna sleep in. Sorry dudes.

Are we home yet?

A sleeping City Different

Coyote tracks

Looking out over Hyde Park Rd after the sun came out. Picacho
is visible in the upper left, but Atalaya is still in the clouds.

This was kind of an odd week. Three double days followed by a three hour long run was arguably a bit much, but I also had two days with no running at all, and next week will be a recovery week. So I was comfortable pushing things a little. Some rest also should give the irritated posterior tibalis tendon in my left foot a chance to settle down. It's been slowly getting better after I tweaked it on some icy single track a couple weeks ago, but is still a little cranky.

The weekly numbers:

Mon: 30 min core work.

Tue AM: 5.3 mi / 500 ft. Downtown loop.

Tue PM: 5.1 mi / 1200 ft. Ridiculous post-holing trudge up Camp May Rd Trail with Crone, then down the road.

Wed AM: 4.1 mi / 400 ft. Downtown loop.

Wed PM: 5.9 mi / 1200 ft. More or less a repeat of the previous day's stupidity, but this time up Nail Trail, with Crone, Coblentz, and Porter.

Thu AM: 4.1 mi / 400 ft. Downtown loop.

Thu PM: 30 min core work.

Fri AM: 5.3 mi / 500 ft. Downtown loop.

Fri PM: 7.2 mi / 1500 ft. Camp May Rd up to Townsight Lift with Stockton, Coblentz, and Crone.

Sat: Off

Sun: 16.2 mi / 2600 ft. Out and back on Dale Ball starting from home.

Total: 53.2 mi / 8300 ft.

The Slog

Gorgeous Sunday morning views on the way up Picacho

Getting back into a routine after a layoff is always such a damn slog. Stiff legs, sore feet, battered ankles... but the hardest adjustment for me is the getting up early. It seems to help if I don't think about what I'm doing. Just get up and stumble out the door before my inner sissy has a chance to realize what's going on.

On Sunday I got out for my first run in Kathoola's and wow, what an improvement over YakTrax. The YakTrax have worked fine for me for hiking and running on relatively flat, packed snow, but add ice and steep vertical to the mix and it's a night and day difference. Highly recommended.

Kathoola's on the way up Picacho. Yes I'm wearing capris. 

Sunday's route.

The weekly numbers:

Mon: 5 mi / 1000 ft. About halfway up Camp May Rd with the lunch group.

Tue AM: 3.1 mi / 400 ft. Downtown loop easy.

Tue PM: 5.0 mi / 1600 ft. Lunch time hill repeats. Kept it aerobic.

Wed: 4.3 mi / 900 ft. LA Canyon easy.

Thu: 4.3 mi / 800 ft. Partway out toward S-site with Crone through the snow, back on the road.

Fri AM: 4.1 mi / 400 ft. Downtown loop easy.

Fri PM: 5.8 mi / 900 ft. Dale Ball easy via Hyde Park.

Sat: 5.3 mi / 500 ft. Downtown loop.

Sun: 13.1 mi / 3000 ft. About a 9 mile loop on Dale Ball with an ascent of Picacho tacked on at the end.

Total: 50.0 mi / 9500 ft.

Return of the Living Dead

I'll admit, I'm a sucker for zombie fiction. The 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead and Zombieland are two of my more recent favorites. However what I'm referring to is not actually zombie fiction, but rather the endless zombie hunger that inevitably accompanies an increase in training volume. Apparently, while I am trying to take things slow and build up my mileage in a sensible fashion, my zombie hunger has decided to return with a vengeance, leaving me feeling somewhat like one of these:

Image found on flickr.

OK so there are worse problems than being able to eat as much as you want whenever you want. I just didn't think it would show up the first damn week of the year.

Now for some 2011 highlights: I could go into my training totals and races and crap like that, but honestly, who cares. There are really just two things I want to point out. First is the shirt from the Deadman Peaks 50 mile. Some of my other race shirts are nice and I wear them regularly. Others went straight to the Goodwill box. But the DP 50 shirt is the only one that is actually cool:

DP 50 shirt in action at the Turkey Trot. Max Mujynya photo.

The second is Santa Fe Brewing Company's Bourbon Barrel-aged State Pen Porter. I mean, their normal State Pen Porter is good enough, but this is just unreal. I hope they keep making it 'cause I only got one bottle left.

Pure bottled deliciousness

And now that I am officially back in training again, the week's numbers:

Mon: 11.5 mi / 2400 ft. Took advantage of one last day off work to bag some miles on Dale Ball with Crone. Attempted to get up Atalaya but turned back due time constraints and the trail having turned into a virtual luge course with all the ice.

Tue: 3.3 mi / 500 ft. Trudged through the snow for a couple miles out toward S-site, then back on the road.

Wed: 7.3 mi / 1500 ft. Camp May Rd up to Townsight Lift and back, with Crone and Coblentz.

Thu: 4.0 mi / 1200 ft. Light hill repeats with the lunch group. Our hill repeat course has enough of a southern exposure that it was actually clear of snow.

Fri: 4.3 mi / 900 ft. Easy jog down into LA Canyon with the lunch group.

Sat: 6.3 mi / 900 ft. Another easy one on Dale Ball via Hyde Park.

Sun: 5.3 mi / 500 ft. Downtown loop easy.

Total: 42.0 mi / 7900 ft.

This was the fourth week of a gentle ramp-up, with the previous three weeks coming in at about 36, 32, and 40 miles. One thing about winter running however is that the numbers do a poor job of reflecting the training load. Trying to run through unpacked snow is absurdly tedious: more effort gets you less distance in the same amount of time. Good for the legs and lungs, that's for sure.