Training Camp

I've been back from the WS training camp for a couple of days. I've now had time to reflect on the course, my mental attitude, and catch up on my sleep a bit.

First of all, the training runs were incredibly valuable to me. I got to run on the WS trail for two solid days and see what was in store for me during the race.

I flew into Sacramento, rented a car, and drove to Foresthill, CA where I would be camping for two nights. I set up my tent in the Foresthill Middle School soccer field with about 20 other adventurous souls. I say adventurous, because it started raining as soon as my tent went up and it did not stop for over 24 hours. And it was pretty dang cold - mid 40's. Much different from Dallas, Tx this time of year. I found a restaurant that made pasta, ate, and then crawled into my sleeping bag while it was still light outside. There was really nothing else for me to do and I figured I needed as much rest as possible.

I woke up the next morning around 3ish and could not go back to sleep. The rain was really keeping me awake, plus I was anxious about the upcoming run. I was about to run the hardest part of the course (the canyons) in some pretty miserable conditions. So I ate my breakfast and just stared at the top of my tent for 3 hours until it was time to get up.

I drove down to the run start and registered. The volunteers wrote a giant number on the back of my hand so they could keep track of all of the runners on the course. They did not want to lose anybody out there. Before I knew it, it was time to load up into the buses for an hour ride to get to the start of the run.

Everyone on the bus was incredibly excited. I had the great fortune of sitting next to a 7 time WS finisher who gave me some really good advice. I asked him how all of the rain would affect the trail. I know in Texas with all of our clay soil, it would be impossible to run in these conditions. He told me not to worry, the course drains really well, and that we'd just have to dodge a few puddles here and there.

We finally got to the trail and everyone poured of the bus. It was hilarious -- there were about 400 people heading for the nearest tree to relieve themselves. There was no modesty at all - everyone had to go really bad!

And then off we went. And man, was it miserable. We were at a higher elevation now and it was colder. And it was still raining. My hands were numb after 5 minutes. I was so thankful I'd brought my rain jacket. It started sleeting for a bit and there were piles of snow on the sides of the trail. At this point, I was thinking this is no fun at all. And it was muddy! Very, very muddy. But at least it wasn't the Texas clay mud that grips your shoes and doesn't let go. This was a fine mud - very slippery. I had mud inside my shoes the entire day. It made no sense to clean them out -- more just kept coming in. Some sections there was some nice shoe sucking mud. You really had to pick your steps carefully. I ran into my new friend at an aid station and he apologized for the bad advice about the trail conditions -- we both had a good laugh.

But man, I was finally on the WS trail! And that was a really good feeling. I was on the trail that I'd heard and read so much about. This is the trail I have been working towards for last 6 months. And I was about to run the most difficult section of the trail -- the canyons.

After 8 miles or so, we got to the decent into the canyons. And that was by far the most dangerous running I've ever done. The mud and foot traffic made the decent incredibly scary. I could not do my usual free fall type of downhill running. I really had to watch what I was doing and had to put the breaks on so I would not fall off the course. And a fall here would be bad. When you put the breaks on during these downhills, your feet slip in the mud. I would slide 5 feet at a time on certain descents. That out of control feeling with rocks, trees, and cliffs all around is not a good feeling. Somewhere on this section a runner sprained his ankle really badly. Other runners helped him out of the canyon where a helicopter was waiting to fly him out. He had hypothermia from the cold conditions. That's a very unlucky way to end your WS dream.

I finally reached the bottom of the first canyon and started my climb back up. This section is called the Devil's Thumb and I had heard a lot about it. In fact, I was really anxious about this climb. So many runner's races are dashed in these canyons and the Devil's Thumb is one serious climb. I just started at my normal climbing pace and kept on moving. I knew it would take time to get to the top and I just had to have patience and I would eventually get there. I reached the top after 40 minutes and I thought to myself -- hey, that wasn't so bad! But during the race, I'll already have run over 30 miles before this point and it will be at least 50 degrees warmer. So I know the canyon section is going to be tough. There were two other canyons after Devil's Thumb and they were all very hard, but manageable. And before I knew it, the run was over. Along the way, I had a great conversation with a lady who had completed WS 2 times and Badwater once amongst several other 100 mile races. She gave me some great advice and encouragement.

Day two was much easier. My legs were tired, but I was able to complete the 20 mile run in a little less than 4 hours. This had to be the easiest section of the course -- lots of really runnable terrain. I have to be sure I have legs left during the race to really take advantage of it. I'll also being running this section with my pacer, Steve, who've I've already told not to let me fall of the cliffs that are everywhere in this section.

Overall, the training camp was a great experience. I have come away from it with good confidence that I can complete this race. I am now mentally ready and physically I am about as good as shape as I can get in. Two more tough weeks of training before I begin my taper. I will be ready for WS100! 30 more days!

5K

I got a call from Matt on Thursday asking me if I'd like to enter the Heartbeat 5K that his hospital sponsors each year. But here was the catch - he wanted to work it into our regular Saturday long run. So we'd run for awhile and then do the 5K on somewhat tired legs.

On Saturday morning, I woke early and started my regular long run. Matt met me at Flag Pole Hill after I got in 7 hilly miles and then we headed off to Presbyterian Hospital for the race. But we miscalculated the distance to Presby so we had to really push it to get to the race by the 8:30 start time. We arrived at the race with 5 minutes to spare and I was dripping wet somewhat dehydrated mess. And I was already tired. I had 11 hilly miles on my legs and I'd basically already run close to my race pace just to get there. So my expectations for the 5K were really low. My goal was to average 8 minute miles or better (remember, I am a really slow runner!) and to not fall apart at the end of the race. I pounded some water and got myself together for the race.

I started the race and actually felt OK - I love that race day magic! The first mile had a nice downhill to it so I pushed it a bit. But you always pay for those downhills because the 2nd mile was mostly uphill. I made the turn to head back to the hospital for the last mile and knew that we had a gentle downhill with a pretty nice uphill right at the finish. At this point I was just trying to hold it together and maintain my pace. I was still passing a few runners that went out to quickly, but I knew I could not hold the pace much longer. I made the turn to the finish just as Matt yelled out - "Krejci is dropping the hammer!" (of course, he'd already finished by now) and finished with a 24:31.

I was happy with my effort and frankly really surprised. I did not think I could run that fast after already putting in 11 miles before the race. I've only run one other 5K (2 years ago) and I finished this one over a minute faster. I am not a huge fan of the 5K distance. Running 3.1 miles at a fast pace (for me) really freaking hurts! I'm not kidding when I say I'd rather run a marathon than a fast 5K.

After the race we ran back to my house and then Matt continued on to his house. I got in a total of 16 miles - 3 of which were really fast - and 3 of which were close to my race pace. And in the hills at Flag Pole and it was a pretty good training run. Next weekend is training camp weekend on the WS100 trail. I can not wait to get out there and see the course for myself. I am incredibly excited. 40 more days until WS100.

The Hill

The Hill is a beating. The Hill has made me sore for the last two days. The Hill is exactly the specific training I need to finish WS100.

The Hill is a small patch of grass alongside I-45 just south of Dallas. And it is the steepest thing we have within 30 miles of Dallas. And when I say alongside I-45, I am talking you are running down this hill and putting on the breaks right before you end up in the road. I believe it may freak out drivers a bit to see people barrelling down this hill and then stopping right before the freeway. It's a little unnerving for the runners as well -- especially when you are tired.

The routine goes like this - power hike up The Hill - run down The Hill - repeat until your quads and calves beg for mercy.

I did two hours at The Hill with Matt on Wednesday - total elevation gain was 3700 feet. The plan is to work the The Hill into our training every Wednesday after work for the next several weeks.

Here is what my training looks like right now.

Monday - easy run - 4 miles - work out the kinks of the Saturday long run; yoga at night
Tuesday - speed day - 4-6 miles - with mile repeats
Wednesday - hill day (see above); Pilates at night if I can get it in
Thursday - easy, easy run - 4 miles - work out the kinks of The Hill
Friday - rest - usually do some walking on this day - 2 miles
Saturday - long run on trails - 18-30 miles depending on the week
Sunday - total rest

My total weekly mileage has been in the 35-40 mile range for the last several weeks. This is really not that many miles to run while training for WS100. Most people average 50-70 miles a week during April and May leading up to the race. Many folks average 100 miles a week. Well, I tried the heavy mileage thing while training for the Rocky Raccoon 100 and my IT Band fell apart. I believe that 35-40 miles per week is really as much as I can do right now without injuring myself again.

I am thinking quality runs over quantity right now. I'm doing as many specific training runs as possible. Hills for strength and mental toughness, speed work for speed - because I am a slow ass runner, and long runs because this is a long ass race. The other runs are all for recovery. And the walks are to make me a faster power hiker which is a skill I know I'll need on the WS100 course.

I've come a long way from last December and January when I could not run a step due to my IT issue. Speaking of the IT - it's still aches most days, but it allows me to run. And I always run on soft surfaces like the Katy Trail or on single track trails on my long runs.

50 days until WS100!

Ouachita Forest Backpacking Trip

This past Friday, I headed out for a backpacking trip with some of my friends from church. We hiked a trail in the Ouachita National Forest. I'd never backpacked before, so it was new experience for me. We headed up the Horse Thief Springs trail around 1ish on Friday afternoon. The hike was a lot of ups and downs, but mostly up. We hiked through woods with a lot of rocks and even some boulder fields that we had to cross. We made it to the top of the 2000 foot "mountain" around 6 in the afternoon. I would rate this trail as mostly unrunnable and a fairly difficult hike. It took us basically 5 hours (including breaks where we debated on which direction to go, etc.) to hike roughly 7 miles.

We camped at the top of the "mountain" near the springs. The next day we hiked back down going on different route which was much easier. We camped near Cedar Lake that night. I had enough time to get in one 3 mile run around the lake after setting up camp. I also did a little fishing. Overall a really nice trip and some decent training for WS.

Overall mileage for the two days - 16 on some pretty tough terrain. This week I plan on hitting it much harder. 54 days until WS!