Hills of Afton

I've been getting out to Afton State Park for some hill training about once per week for the last month. Hoo boy, am I ever out of shape! Unfortunately, there's only one way to fix that ;)

As many of the Afton regulars know, two of our favorite trails are closed this year: Nigel's Hill and Horse Shit Hill (the trail leading up to Africa Loop on the 25K race course). I never knew the name of that hill, and I'm not sure it's official, but Tom & Nancy told me about it this morning and it fits - so Horse Shit Hill it is from now on. This means that the Afton race will have a slightly tweaked course this year - I'm sure we'll be hearing about the official changes on the brand spankin' new Afton Trail Run blog. I ran what I figured would be the new route: up to Africa from the "down" direction, then instead of Nigel's Hill I took the trail at the far north end of the park, which has a stunning view of the St. Croix River valley. Rumor has it that a little loop later in the course will be dropped - I think this new course may actually turn out even better than the regular course!

I've also been experimenting a bit with electrolytes/nutrition/sports drinks. In the past, I've had problems with muscle cramping and never could find a truly reliable strategy. I had been taking one S-cap per hour which sometimes seemed to work and sometimes didn't. I was starting to think that perhaps it wasn't really sodium depletion, but perhaps a magnesium deficiency, so I've been taking 200 mg of magnesium glycinate every day for the last few months. So far, no cramping problems, even when only drinking plain water and not taking any S-caps or any type of electrolytes at all during my runs (which have so far only lasted a few hours). Been sleeping better too!

Today I tried a newish supplement called Vespa, which supposedly encourages your body to rely more on fat metabolism instead of carbs, therefore sparing glycogen and decreasing lactic acid buildup. I drank only water so I could eliminate carbs from the equation to test the "bonk" factor. I have to say, I felt like I was running on fumes trudging up the last hill at Afton today (I only went about 11 miles) - can't really say I'm sold on Vespa, though I've only tried it once. I'll probably stick with my prior strategy of sports drinks and gels for the time being.

Hope you are all enjoying the trails!

Afton Again

Headed out to Afton again today for another round of hills. The goal for today was to get about 12 miles of hard hill work in before beginning a serious taper for Moose Mountain 2 weeks away.

After a very busy and sleep deprived week, I slept in this morning :) Stopped by the gym on my way out to Afton for a quick upper body strength training workout, then successfully bypassed REI without stopping in for their Labor Day Sale. It was past 10:30 when I finally pulled into the lot at Afton, just in time to see Matt as he was finishing up for the day. I'm pretty sure I saw Steve's car in the lot too, and it was still there when I finished (with a bottle of vitamin water on the windshield), but I never did meet up with him on the trail.

I did the same hill loop as last week, except only 2 laps. Turned out to be 11.7 miles, which felt pretty good! Today was my last pass through the blackberry patch for the year, though there may still be a few good ones next weekend for anyone heading out. Saw a wild turkey family on the trail (didn't get chased this time), and instead of buzzards circling there were bald eagles soaring. Definately a step in the right direction!

Hill Repeats at Afton

Headed out to Afton this morning for more snake hoppin', berry munchin', and hill runnin' as planned. Goal was to get a good 20 mile run of solid hills before beginning to taper a bit for Moose Mountain. I ended up starting the 25K loop in the forward direction, but chose to create a smaller loop so that I could emphasize running hills rather than the flatter terrain (ie Africa Loop and the long, flat, straight stretch that runs parallel to the St. Croix River towards Meat Grinder).

My loop included the run up to the Africa Loop, but rather than run the loop I made a right turn at the top and took the usual trail back down to the start of Nigel's Hill. Then ran Nigel's and the Campground loop as usual. This would allow me to refill my water bottle (Nathan vest) as well as hit the blackberry patch on each loop ;) Repeat 2 more times. For my fourth and final loop, I left off the quick trip up to Africa and just did Nigel's and Campround Hills.

Met up with Karen Gall as I was heading down the flat stretch from Nigel's to my last run up to the Campground. It was nice to have some company after almost 5 hours of hill running! We visited the berry patch up in the campground one more time before heading back to the parking lot. Karen was kind enough to slow to my pace rather than run her own workout - thanks Karen!
Total tally for the day:

20.78 miles
total elevation = 8823 vertical feet
average pace was just under 15 min miles (although the later miles were much slower than the early miles)

Consumed 4 liters of Heed, 4 Clif Shot gels, 5 S caps during the run, and some Endurox R4 immediately afterwards. My pre and post race weights were the same (I think that may be a first for a run this long)! I still start feeling a little queasy after drinking Heed for a few hours, but have found that eating crystallized ginger helps to settle my stomach.

Only 1 buzzard showed up while I was at the top of Nigel's Hill on my last loop, but he wasn't very persistant. Today's workout felt better than my 17+ miler 2 weeks ago, even though I was up late watching the Olympics and tossing back a few Summit Extra Pale Ales.

I'm tired and my knees ache, but I think I'm going to sleep pretty good tonight ;)

Weekend Running Plans

Tomorrow is race number 8 of the 12 in the Minnesota Trail Run Series - this one being a 10K in Maple Lake. I'll be using it as an easy 6 mile run so that I can be rested for...

...hill repeats at Afton on Sunday. Lots of hill repeats. Planning on getting 20 miles of hills in preparation for Moose Mountain Marathon (race #9 in the series), then start tapering a bit. Hopefully there will still be a few blackberries on the bushes! If you want to join me, I'll be sticking mainly with Nigel's and Campground hills.

Don't mind the buzzards circling ;)

Buzzard Magnet

After much deliberation, I decided to stick around town and do some hill work out at Afton today. Got out there a little late (10:00 am) and started out with the usual - the 25K race loop in the forward direction. The plan was to get 16-18 miles total with some added emphasis on hills.

Be careful what you wish for.

I decided that the Africa Loop and the Back 40 would be a nice 10K warm up before attempting multiple repeats of Nigel's & Campground Hills. Part of the logic for this was to delay having to do too many repeats of Nigel's & Campground, there is a solar powered water pump at the top of the Campground so I could carry a hand held rather than the Camelback, and I really wanted to check the blackberry patch on the top of Africa. Alrighty then!

Temps were in the mid-70's, approaching 80, and I calculated that I should probably consume at least 2 bottles of Heed during the Africa/Back 40 loop. Not happening with a single hand held, but I figured I'd be able to make up for it as soon as I got up to the Campground. Was sweating like a pig! Felt reasonably good, and was taking 1 S cap/hour as well as 1 Clif Shot.

Africa started out pretty uneventful. So was the Back 40. Got back up to the Africa Loop right near the big blackberry patch. There were a couple of people deep into the patch, but all of the bushes I could see had nothing more than green berries. A few just starting to turn pink - nothing even remotely ripe. (The smaller patch in the campground had a few ripe ones - next weekend should be prime)!

It was at this point that I think I had my highest heart rate reading of the day - at a time that I was barely moving. Focusing all of my attention on the berry patch, I wasn't paying attention to the ground. Just as I was in mid-stride to start running further down the trail, I heard an odd vibrating sound. Looked down just in time to see that I was about to step on a large brown snake that was coiled and rattling it's tail. Crikey! I was able to jump over the snake and run several feet down the trail. After swallowing to get my heart out of my throat and back into my chest, I just had to come back and take a closer look. Turned out to be a fox snake pretending to be a big kahuna. Cheeky little bugger - he was still coiled and rattling even when I went back. With his tail in the dry grass, it sounded like it could have been a rattle snake.

By the time I got down to the river, my water bottle was bone dry. Decided to head up Campground Hill in the reverse direction to get to the water pump and tank up. Down the other side, then back up Campground Hill in the forward direction. Did 2 more loops of Nigel's Hill & Campground Hill, then headed for the barn. I hardly ran at all my last loop, and was really dragging up that last repeat to the campground.

Totals for the day:
17+ miles with Africa Loop x 1, Back 40 x 1, Campground Hill x 4, Nigel's Hill x 2, and a pathetic climb back up to the visitor's center. Total elevation according to Garmin was 14,400 vertical feet total, but I don't buy it. I'm guessing it was closer to half that.

Perceived effort:
Afton handed me my ass today. After only 17-18 miles. Since the Superior Hiking Trail is more difficult, Moose Mountain Marathon is shaping up to be a death march. Apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks so: as I got back to my car in the parking lot I looked up to see about a half dozen buzzards circling. Again.

Hills

<- A little of this....







<- to get ready for that


Recognizing that I'm going to need to be able to haul my carcass up and down some substantial hills for an extended period of time in less than 2 months, the big decision today was where to run: RTA or Afton. I chose to give Adam's hill loop at RTA a try - this would be a new workout on a few trails I hadn't yet seen.


Slept in and putzed around this morning, so I didn't get to RTA until after 11:00 am. Only 1 other car in the lot - never saw another person on the trails for the entire time I was there. Weather was warm - not overly hot or humid. Bugs weren't bad either!

I'd printed out a map along with Adam's comments about the loop and I was glad I did. The first hill is straight forward, and I'd been to RTA enough that I knew exactly where it was even before I got there. That must be an awesome sledding hill in the winter!

The second hill trail was just a little tricky to pick up after you pop out onto the asphalt, and I don't think I'd have found it if Adam's instructions hadn't been so clear. If you look carefully, there is a blue blaze on a tree marking where the trail continues into the trees from the asphalt. At times the trail can be a little hard to follow, but there are some orange markers on trees to help keep you on track. Wonder who put the blue blazes and orange tape there ;)

The third hill is probably the easiest and very simple to find and follow. Mini-Moose is also straightforward, but now has wood chips and railroad ties - along with a bench about half way up that can be tempting (but illegal for trail runners IMHO).

Jackhammer might be my favorite - very nice single track that runs parallel to a currently dry stream. Very pretty scenery in this stretch of open woods!

The sixth and final hill is the steepest (35% grade according to my Garmin) and most technical. Route finding can be a little tricky here too - some orange markers help keep you on track.

I ended up doing 2 laps for a total of 5 miles and was literally dripping wet by the end. Drank 40 oz of Heed, 16 oz water, 2 Endurolytes, and still ended up a pound lighter than what I started. I must be getting acclimated to the heat since I hardly had any Na at all and didn't cramp or have hand swelling. Progress.

In Search of Hills

RT Anderson overlook

The exercises that most people dislike the most are typically the ones they need the most. They're also the exercises that folks avoid doing, because, well, they don't like them. As a result, weaknesses develop, which makes us dislike them even more. So we avoid them even more. Vicious cycle that can turn into disaster. Unfortunately, I am no exception, even though I know better given what I do for a living.

So after a long winter of dismal, unfocused, spotty training, I realized I need to haul my carcass up and down some hills to get ready for the Superior and Afton races (among others). Not just gentle measly bumps ala Hyland (most of which I still ended up walking at Trail Mix), but steep, serious hills.

Since Trail Mix, I've been doing more strength training, tempo runs, and hill repeats on the treadmill during crappy weather days. Today, I went out to RT Anderson for the first time since the November Fat Ass run. Had the place to myself. Sunshine. Light wind. Trail in pretty good condition (a few short slippery spots that should dry up in no time). Fresh turkey tracks. Nice single track. Felt kinda gassed after only 2 loops (4.5 miles according to Garmin). Nice hills!

I definately need to spend more time on the hills.