Jason Schlarb
This week was certainly a learning experience with regards to recovering from a hilly Ultra...
After running TNF 50 Saturday the 4th, I had the opportunity to hangout with an old middle school best friend, Mike, one of my best friends from my high school XC team (Jesuit High) back in Oregon, John Garvie (Div I runner) and finally one of my best skiing/snowriding friends from Colorado that now lives in the Bay area, Matt! Let's just say on top of running the 50, I was up 25 hours.
I certainly did not run Sunday. While I wasn't maimed like after my first couple marathons, I was certainly unable to walk down stairs properly... that would't come until Tuesday. I proceeded to take Monday and Tuesday off as well with a great 70 minute recovery session with Marcus, my massage therapist, Tuesday. Wednesday-Friday my legs felt strange on flat 50ish minute runs with my stride real short like a grandma's stride and quads still hurting on the smallest of downhills.
Friday my wife and I headed to Fort Collins for a "BabyMoon", basically a last weekend out together to enjoy each other's company, relaxation, a hotel etc... as a "couple", before Baby Schlarb shows up on the scene late December/early January. It was an awesome time together and away from the house.
I did 75 minutes on a bike trail to a trail that went up and over one of Fort Collin's "Hogbacks". I actually got lost on the way back, as I intended on running only about 65. The legs still lacked their regular range of motion but things were gradually getting better. My quads had a surprisingly sharp pain when standing up from a chair or squatting low all week and even weekend, not something I'm used to after a race. Sunday I did a great 82 minute loop in Lory State Park up and around Arthur's Rock, while Maggie did the 1.7 mile 1,100ft climb up to Arthur's. The legs were still only at about 75% recovered today, but it was so awesome to be back on the trails and in the mountains where my legs and I belong. I felt better on the gradual climbs and descents than the flat, whatever. I got back to the car and was happy to find that Maggie was still out on the trail. I quickly hiked back up the trail where I met her for a wonderful little sit together on the side of the trail in a sparsely forested meadow with the warm sunshine on our faces... perfect.
I'll have to play this week by ear, but I hope to be back to 100% by Wednesday and subsequently back in Chautaqua Park sooner than latter. Saturday I think I will head up to Fort Collins for the Chubby Cheeks 50K to hopefully get to know some of the amazing ultra talent that litters the front range. I hope my friend Brian Dumm (JFK 50 winner) from Colorado Springs and long time training partner, Levi Severson, who also lives in Boulder, join me.
Anyone from Boulder want to car pool?
Sunday 0 Miles
-OFF-
Monday 0 Miles
-OFF-
Tuesday 0 Miles 70 Minutes of body work with Marcus
-OFF-
Wednesday 6 Miles
PM: 51min, flat, 6 Miles; Slooooooow run from campus west on Boulder Creek bike path, 1 mile barefoot at Boulder High School's turf infield. Flat.
Thursday 6.5 Miles
AM: 56min, flat, 6.5 Miles; Super slow run from the house down 4th to Wonderland Trail, Wonderland Lake, to trails north of Wonderland Lake and back. Flat.
Friday 7.5 Miles
AM: 1:05, flat, 7.5 Miles; A little closer to "regular" easy run pace from the house to Eben G. Fine Park, up Boulder Creek Canyon bike path and back. Flat.
Saturday 8.5 Miles
PM: 1:15, 100ft, 8.5 Miles; Ran from hotel in Fort Collins, up bike path to a trail leading to a "hogback" and back. Flat.
Sunday 9 Miles
AM: 1:22, 1,200ft, 9 Miles; Ran at Lory State park near Fort Collins. Up to Arthur's Rock, looped around to north part of park and back around to south end. Felt "better".
Weekly Summary
37.5 Miles
5hr 29min
1,300ft
Hey Jason,
ReplyDeleteJust stumbled across your blog. Huge congrats on 5th place the TNF 50! That's awesome. That race was totally stacked and you nailed it.
I met you up at the joe colton 15 miler when my wife was running it last summer...cool to see you taking the trail running up to the next level.
I live in S. Boulder and am carpooling with a friend Steve up to the chubby cheeks run this weekend...if you want to carpool I can fit 3 more people, or we would be happy to ride along in a bigger car that may be going.
Take care,
Aaron
Thanks Aaron!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to your wife, Nan, placing 3rd and only 5 seconds back from 1st. Wow. Quite a boulder showing in the race too.
Stumble you must have... I just put this blog up last week and I have no idea how to get the blog to show up on google when searching my name (or anything, by that matter). I saw you have a KILLER blog, any quick tips/help?
I do remember meeting you at Joe Coltons! We should meet up for a run around Green Mtn, are you around over the holidays?
I might take you up on that ride, but I have to figure out first if my body can/should handle a run like that (more than 90 min) right now and rather Brian Dumm will join me. I'm also considering skiing and a friend from Durango might visit too. A bit crazy.
Thanks again and talk to you soon.
J
Yeah, I saw your comment on Dakota's blog, thus stumbled onto yours. Your blog will start to show up in google searches for your name and stuff soon. But mostly you'll get traffic from people who see your links on comments on other sites.
ReplyDeleteNice reports by the way.
Would be great to hook up for a run, and it would be great if you and/or Brian want to carpool on Saturday. Plus, you don't have to run the whole 32 miles either, you could just run part if you want.
But either way, maybe next week we could head up green, I live off table mesa and broadway area and we're not going anywhere for the Holidays. Shoot me an email anytime you feel like heading out.
it's always nice to find a new blog to be inspired by. great job at tnf 50, hope to meet you out on the trails in the near future.
ReplyDeleteAlso, regarding the blog...I set up my blog using wordpress.com. Its similar to blogger.com but has different templates and options. There are some features about blogger I like better...I would say your blog looks great. Unless you just want a different look to it, I would say the blogspot blogs have all the functionality you ever need to get the job done on a basic blog, which is why majority of people I see use that one.
ReplyDeleteAaron,
ReplyDeleteThat is how I thought it worked, but had read something about doing something with the code where you can dictate what the "spiders" look at or crawl on your site... whatever.
I'll for sure contact you about Saturday and running soon Aaron!
My wife and some friends do wordpress, but this blostpot deal works for me indeed.
Talk to you soon.
J
Jacob,
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'll see on the trails for sure... looks like you are doing PP 50K. I hope to be there too.
Jason
Jason - welcome to the ultra-running community! Came across your blog while blog surfing (in the hospital after having gall bladder out). You certainly should be psyched - hell of a race last week in a spectacular field. You've got the wheels (and apparently the mind-set) to do well. Anybody with the heart and a sub 2.30 marathon to match should kill the ultra scene. All of a sudden at 50 miles the difference between a 5.15 turnover and a 5.30 turnover on a flat road for 26.2 becomes an afterthought. I havent spent enough time "marathon" training to really get that 5.30 pace down and blew up good going after a 2.35 at Wineglass in NY this past OCT (while fighting gall bladder disease). I have a big 2011 planned on the East Coast - and I am sure your schedule is coming together also! Good luck and keep blogging - I love reading about what other guys are doing. Although sounds like you are joining the other club of fatherhood soon? Congrats - the balance will become the real challenge -Anton and Roes and most of the good guys dont have much to worry about besides themselves and their training. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThanks Alex,
ReplyDeleteIt is good to be training for and running Ultras!
I don't know anything about gall bladder disease, but I'm glad to hear the surgery went well and that you will be back and running so quickly.
I've always understood and have tried to embrace that being speedy is basic to running efficiently at long distances 5k-marathon... but now I realize it is an enourmous enabler even for Ultras. You have one hell of a workout scheme and I give you huge props for getting in those hills on the treadmill along with the core strength work. Awesome.
I have hills right in my backyard, but I still plan to hit intervals/speed once a week to keep the speed. The faster you can run a quarter, the more efficent your body becomes at running any pace,just like jack daniels says (not the booze!).
Nick Clark has a couple kids and manages pretty well, but yes, the baby boy will challenge my running situation, but I know it will be worth it!
I like Daniels also .... a good read. Have you read "The Lore of Running" - talk about information! I like the way you put that - relating your 1/4 time to being efficient and the "enabling" effect. It has bothered me since I started running (seriously in 2004) that my 400's were so slow. I got em down a little with some track work but as I started to go longer I kinda gave up and focused more on endurance. I can't come close to a 60 sec 400... hence my 16.20 5K PR. With you running 15 flat 5K's -- wow. I would almost think your Marathon potential is even higher than the time you ran at MCM. No worries about the addition of your boy and your training - I have 3 wonderful kids (2,3, and 8 yrs.) and still manage to train pretty hard - no 200 mile Anton weeks - but pretty hard!
ReplyDeleteAlex,
ReplyDeleteI haven't read that book, I'll try to find it.
16:20 for a 5k is plenty fast man! I would bet that a good portion of the top Ultra runners couldn't crack 16:30.
To get the 400 times down it takes a good 6 week training effort with a dedicated speed day once a week in my opinion. One of the challenging, but least difficult parts, of getting fast is patience on the full recovery. Levi and I did a Daniels workout once a week last year where we did 200M and 400M repeats with a 200M jog 200M WALK recovery, takes forever, but if you want the speed it works.
Just doing striders after a run once a week makes a big difference. Running long slow miles, the legs get so tight, strides shorten and power deminishes if you never open it up a little during the week, especially after your mid 20s.
Conditions have to be just right to run a good PR for a marathon. I know I could break 2:25 this year if everything is right and the course is flat. Do I want to train for the marathon VS awesome 50+ mile trail races??? I think I'll morph my training for both, at least until after Ottawa in May.
You next race, goals?
That is a tough call and certainly tempting BUT my vote would be .... really ... at this point for you - what is the difference between a 2.27 and a 2.25 (other than the obvious 2 min)? Now if you were going to try for a 2.22 to a 2.20 and a trip to the trials, while your young and fast, well thats a no brainer. But with your base the damage that you could do at the bigger races is HUGE. And you know how specific and exhausting that marathon training is. I tried to morph my training this past year in prep for the marathon in Oct and my heart was really never into the marathon prep. My long runs that I intermingled into the block were too long and I was so blown up after some of the longer tempo runs that I was caught, I think, in that no mans land where I was not prepping right for either.
ReplyDeleteMy schedule is pretty set at least for the spring - HAT 50K trail run in MD in March, a 50 miler (new one) north of Pittsburgh in April and then a pretty deep field (for the east coast) at a race called the Highlands Sky 40 miler in June. I would like to win at least one of those. Then in the fall if I am healthy - Turkey Swamp 50K trail in NJ - flat and fast I have the CR of a 3.20 there from a few years back, then Virgil Crest 50 miler in Sept (rocky and hilly up in NY) and then the big one of Mountain Masochist 50 miler in VA in Nov. I tried to win that one last year - led for the first half and then blew up on a huge hill up to mile 30, finished 7th... redemption man!
I know your frustration with the lottery. There is a 50 miler in April call Bull Run - pretty big and competitive down in VA, I hit the lottery there last year and didnt get in & as type A as I am made me pissed and threw off my schedule totally. I will bypass even trying to get in it this year. Train smart and have a wonderful holiday season! When is that baby due?
Hey Alex,
ReplyDeleteGood point on the 2:25 vs 2:27. Brian Dumm has decided to go for the marathon this coming year instead of Ultras, but he can jog a 2:27 (figuratively)and if he stays healthy and doesn't over extend himself on other things he could run close to 2:20 in my opinion and maybe hit the qualifier. 2:19:00 is the qulifier, so basically 2:18... 9 minutes faster (7 on a flat fast course like ottawa) for me. I love competing at the marathon, but I love running on the trails and in the mountains too much to spend the next 5 months dialied in on the roads and marathon workouts. The journey (training) to running a trail Ultra is worth the ride in of its self, where I don't feel the same so much with the marathon. Furthermore, I could get sick or injured right before the race, or it could be windy, hot, too cold, etc... and end up running 2:28 and I wouldn't be very happy.
Sounds like you have a great spring, summer and fall planned out! Nice work on the Turkey Swamp CR!
Look forward to keeping in touch this coming year and maybe someday running a race together.
Jan 7th is the due date, but we think he might come before the end of the year....
Cheers!