As I've shared her before, you and I are living in parallel universes. I have so much to say. :-)
In 2019, in preparation for Never Summer 100K, I ran repeats of "Carlos" (our 1500 feet in 1.5 mile "hill" at 30% grade) -- one in Jan, a double in Feb, triple in March, quad in April...and finished it off with "Cinco de Carlos" in May, 5 repeats that also squeezed in a 5K race on the same trail system. These repeats served me well that year, as I broke age group records at Promise Land 50K in April and at the Highland Sky 40 in June, and was able to run the Silverton Alpine Marathon (with you!) in July with no issues. As for Never Summer, the intense rain and mud, coupled with the altitude, forced my hand to DNF at mile 50, but I have no regrets. I was in the best shape of my 50's that entire year, hands down! Now that I am 60, I have tried this year to repeat that training pattern on Carlos -- but because of some mild osteoarthritis in my right knee, I only was able to work up to a triple in March and a "Carlos 5K Sandwich" (Carlos, 5k trail race, Carlos) in May, though I try to get in at least one hard Carlos repeat every 10-14 days. (BTW: "Carlos" is named for the gentleman who created the trail and who, at 65, hikes up and down every day with his dog).
Your week of the Double Everest is mind blowing. I have hiked up See Forever, Bridal Veil, and the Rundola climb, and I can't really fathom all the repeats you did of those and other climbs. So awesome.
As for the DIY training camp -- yes, I have also been thinking about this as prep for the Hellgate 100K 60-69 women's record attempt on December 9. I agree that 7-8 weeks out is preferable for many reasons (my knee being the biggest one). Last year I raced a 50K with 6K elevation only 5 weeks out of Hellgate and paid for it with a cranky knee and slow finish; this year I'm planning a two-day camp over Labor Day in Shenandoah National Park to get in 40-65 miles and then another 3-day camp over Columbus day weekend to get in 50-70 miles if all goes well, and then a solid taper into December. I agree that the longer runs are the best bang for the buck in terms of simulating all the different things that can go wrong, much more so than than shorter back-to-backs. I'll report back on how my knee responds!
Finally, you had me in tears as I read your thoughts on being a mom. My adult children are living away from us and carving out their lives, but parenting them hasn't ended -- it's just different. I am a listener, first and foremost. Sometimes I'm asked for advice, but mostly I'm here on the end of the line to receive the dumping of their stress, worries, and anxieties about the future. We certainly celebrate the little victories too, but I have to remember that I'm helping them just by being here, unconditionally and without judgement. It's hard to watch them struggle at adulting and not be able to "fix" it, except just to reassure and be a cheerleader.
Cheers to you dear Sarah, for sharing all of this with us. So many helpful life lessons from your trip to Spain, and I'm comforted knowing that someone else is walking this path near me. xo
We just did a 'mini camp' over Memorial Day weekend to get some of those 'back to back run legs' back! It was great. We did a good job clearing outside obligations, but would have prepped better so that we needed to do less of our own chores. We are planning a week in August in your neck of the woods (San Juans) as a combo training camp/project scouting. Ultimately, we want to do a Soft Rock 100, but for two kids from the East Coast, we're going to give ourselves some time to get more familiar with moving through the terrain in that area. We plan on doing a week of big days--that time on feet always is a huge boost to fitness and reminds you how to move when you're tired.
I love the idea of a self-organized three-day camp, and wish I could do one. I was sort of planning to do some back-to-backs ahead of a 44km with 8,200ft of gain in late July, but an annoyed meniscus is likely going to limit that as I manage the swelling. I wonder if there's a benefit to doing very mini back-to-backs.
As I've shared her before, you and I are living in parallel universes. I have so much to say. :-)
In 2019, in preparation for Never Summer 100K, I ran repeats of "Carlos" (our 1500 feet in 1.5 mile "hill" at 30% grade) -- one in Jan, a double in Feb, triple in March, quad in April...and finished it off with "Cinco de Carlos" in May, 5 repeats that also squeezed in a 5K race on the same trail system. These repeats served me well that year, as I broke age group records at Promise Land 50K in April and at the Highland Sky 40 in June, and was able to run the Silverton Alpine Marathon (with you!) in July with no issues. As for Never Summer, the intense rain and mud, coupled with the altitude, forced my hand to DNF at mile 50, but I have no regrets. I was in the best shape of my 50's that entire year, hands down! Now that I am 60, I have tried this year to repeat that training pattern on Carlos -- but because of some mild osteoarthritis in my right knee, I only was able to work up to a triple in March and a "Carlos 5K Sandwich" (Carlos, 5k trail race, Carlos) in May, though I try to get in at least one hard Carlos repeat every 10-14 days. (BTW: "Carlos" is named for the gentleman who created the trail and who, at 65, hikes up and down every day with his dog).
Your week of the Double Everest is mind blowing. I have hiked up See Forever, Bridal Veil, and the Rundola climb, and I can't really fathom all the repeats you did of those and other climbs. So awesome.
As for the DIY training camp -- yes, I have also been thinking about this as prep for the Hellgate 100K 60-69 women's record attempt on December 9. I agree that 7-8 weeks out is preferable for many reasons (my knee being the biggest one). Last year I raced a 50K with 6K elevation only 5 weeks out of Hellgate and paid for it with a cranky knee and slow finish; this year I'm planning a two-day camp over Labor Day in Shenandoah National Park to get in 40-65 miles and then another 3-day camp over Columbus day weekend to get in 50-70 miles if all goes well, and then a solid taper into December. I agree that the longer runs are the best bang for the buck in terms of simulating all the different things that can go wrong, much more so than than shorter back-to-backs. I'll report back on how my knee responds!
Finally, you had me in tears as I read your thoughts on being a mom. My adult children are living away from us and carving out their lives, but parenting them hasn't ended -- it's just different. I am a listener, first and foremost. Sometimes I'm asked for advice, but mostly I'm here on the end of the line to receive the dumping of their stress, worries, and anxieties about the future. We certainly celebrate the little victories too, but I have to remember that I'm helping them just by being here, unconditionally and without judgement. It's hard to watch them struggle at adulting and not be able to "fix" it, except just to reassure and be a cheerleader.
Cheers to you dear Sarah, for sharing all of this with us. So many helpful life lessons from your trip to Spain, and I'm comforted knowing that someone else is walking this path near me. xo
So awesome. I flew by Everest a few years back in a prop plane with 2 female Nepali pilots, and I can say that’s a long way up Great job💪❤️
We just did a 'mini camp' over Memorial Day weekend to get some of those 'back to back run legs' back! It was great. We did a good job clearing outside obligations, but would have prepped better so that we needed to do less of our own chores. We are planning a week in August in your neck of the woods (San Juans) as a combo training camp/project scouting. Ultimately, we want to do a Soft Rock 100, but for two kids from the East Coast, we're going to give ourselves some time to get more familiar with moving through the terrain in that area. We plan on doing a week of big days--that time on feet always is a huge boost to fitness and reminds you how to move when you're tired.
Backpacking in the Sierra's in July to help get ready for the Oregon 200. Plus a couple back to back 20+ mile runs in the San Jacinto Mountains.
I love the idea of a self-organized three-day camp, and wish I could do one. I was sort of planning to do some back-to-backs ahead of a 44km with 8,200ft of gain in late July, but an annoyed meniscus is likely going to limit that as I manage the swelling. I wonder if there's a benefit to doing very mini back-to-backs.
Up Bear Creek and Wasatch and down See Forever is my favorite Telluride loop!